BLOOD TRAITOR
by SammieRose28
Summary: Nova Malfoy. Power beyond comprehension. Born on the wrong side of the war. Principles different from her name. Destined to destroy The Dark Lord. A "Muggle-sympathiser". A nuclear weapon. A disgrace to her family name. A Traitor.
1. PROLOGUE

Please let me know what you think :)

Updated A/N: Thank you Scarlet Hibiscus for pointing out that error! I remember reading about it and for some reason didn't change it so thank you!

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Harry Potter world, all rights go to J.K Rowling. I do however own Nova and her story.**

 _Water filled her lungs as she thrashed around in its depths. Her petite arms flailed around trying the reach the surface as she felt herself sink deeper and deeper. Her vision became hazy as she screamed and cried; water burned in her lungs as her heart pounded faster and faster trying to salvage all the oxygen it could. Her head felt as though it might explode as black spots appeared in front of her eyes. Her limbs grew weary as they struggled desperately against the waves, her muscles burned as the current tossed her small body violently and salt water seared her pores. A rotten hand grabbed her ankle as she stared at it, frozen in fear and with one swift pull, she was whisked into the dark abyss of the ocean._

The window of her room shattered inwards as a strangled scream burst out of her and she shot up in her bed, clutching at her throat as she gasped hastily for air. She had relived that memory every night since the day it happened at the tender age of five. The moment she hit the surface of the waves was the moment her life changed forever. A traumatic event can cause a witch or a wizard to lose control of their power and that was exactly what happened to the young girl. She became a ticking time bomb; the slightest upset or accidental fixation activated her magic. She would obliterate things with a single look and destroy everything she touched and it was completely beyond her control.

The wooden door to her bedroom soon flew open to reveal her twin brother who looked disheveled. The darkened rings that framed his eyes stood out against his pale skin and his white blonde hair sat messily to one side. His grey eyes scanned the room before landing on his sister, look of sheer terror in her eyes stirred something deep within his heart and as he stepped over the broken glass and took her into his arms he felt hopeless. He worried for her. Over the last few months she had been improving significantly in her lessons and her accidents were down to a minimum, their father had even agreed to her attending Hogwarts with him this year but the Manor was awoken every night to the screams that accompanied her night terrors and the smashing of windows.

Outside of her dreams, fear was never something that bothered the young witch but she saw it in her presence every day. She saw it in her brother's eyes in that moment. Her fellow witches and wizards walked on eggshells around her, terrified that they would set her off and she would bring about their demise. Nova hated what her life had become, some would revel in the power that she possessed over magic and mankind alike but the kind-hearted girl wanted nothing more than to be normal. However, normality was nothing more than a fantasy that goaded her every thought.

Nova Malfoy had grown up to be beautiful and kind – incredibly different from the reputation of her family. She had grown to be the black sheep in every sense of the word. In appearance, she looked nothing like a Malfoy, instead she had inherited the dark hair and grey eyes from her mother's side: The Blacks. This had disappointed her father, his bloodline had always been a strong one and it showed in their son's appearance and nature but his daughter was a Black through and through. Narcissa often noticed the similarities between Nova and Sirius; she looked just like him, from her facial expressions to the kindness and bravery that shone through her smile to the cheeky glint in her eye. Secretly, the woman was pleased that one of the twins had inherited her genetics although she would never voice that aloud. The spiritual side of woman believed that the similarities between her cousin and her daughter were linked to their names as both meant bright stars. Her family had a tradition of naming their children after celestial stars but when Narcissa had named her twins, she had no idea how apt the young witch's name would be. A nova is a star that suddenly increases in brightness and then fades and after her husband had rescued their drowning daughter, her magic began to do just that. In magical ability Nova was extremely powerful for her age. She had a flare for potions like her father, however she had also shown the much rarer gift of Legilimency, the ability to magically navigate through another's mind. This power manifested after the unhinging of the young girl's magic and only grew stronger as she slowly regained her control. It takes a very skilled witch or wizard to use Legilimency wordlessly and without the use of a wand and Lucius began to suspect that that was what had peaked Lord Voldemort's interest in his daughter.

The Dark Lord had risen and was recruiting the newest generation of Death Eaters. He had made it clear that he wanted one of Lucius' twins, if not both, and had begun to show an increasing interest in Nova. She possessed magic that her brother could only dream of and if there was anything in the world that Voldemort craved it was power; he wanted to bend the youngest Malfoy to his own will. Lucius was always terrified of The Dark Lord, so much so that his boggart would take his shape and so he was willing to do whatever was asked of him. However, one thing that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did not expect was the power of protection from the love of a twin. Draco had vowed that he would take Voldemort's offer and complete any task given to him on the promise that Nova would be allowed to choose her own path. He had ruined his sister's life from the moment he pushed her into the stormy sea and he promised himself that he would spend the rest of his life protecting her to make up for that. His father was astounded, declaring that his sister would do as every Malfoy before her and would serve proudly. His mother however shared his apprehension, she would rather that none of her children were involved with the Death Eaters but as she saw the determination in her son's eyes she knew he had already made up his mind.

As the sun shone through the broken window, the twins pulled apart. Their father had an important meeting with You-Know-Who at the Manor and Draco's presence had been requested. Nova slid out her bed, pulled her hair into a ponytail and grabbed her wand from her bedside cabinet.

"Reparo." she whispered pointing it at the hole where her window had been. She smiled lightly as the glass that littered her floor slowly drifted back into the frame.

The young witch's curiosity got the better of her as she tiptoed down the stairs, her bare feet padding on the marble floors. She could hear the muffled voices of a group of people in the drawing room and pressed her ear against the door as she struggled to listen. Her brow furrowed in concentration as she closed her eyes and held her breath trying to silence her strong heartbeat. She could hear the snake-like tones of Voldemort echoing through the room as his followers listened intently. _Prophecy. Harry Potter. Department of Mysteries. Lucius._ Nova stepped back slightly at the mention of her father and tried to make meaning of the words she had caught. Suddenly, a hand wrapped around her mouth and she was forced back into the wall. Her eyes widened in shock as she reached for her wand only to meet the stern gaze of her brother. She left out a breath of relief as he let her go.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?!" He whispered urgently before glancing down the corridor as he prayed no one had heard him. "Go. Before anyone sees you."

She didn't need to be told twice. Her brilliant mind was reeling. The Dark Lord and his followers were planning something big; something involving a prophecy and Harry Potter and it killed her that she only had a few of the pieces to the puzzle. Nova would never understand how her father could blindly obey someone so cruel and she would never understand her family's principals. The youngest Malfoy was notorious for speaking out of turn, thus leading to a number of punishments at the hands of her father and as her hands trembled with adrenaline and she paced back and forth, her mind battling with itself, she knew that there would be no return if he found out her plans. There was a war coming and Nova knew in her heart that she hadn't been born on the right side.

She had made her decision. The pacing stopped and the room was soaked in silence; a silvery white bear appeared from the end of her wand. She needed to send a message, fast and undetected so she sent her patronus to one of the only people she knew that she could trust.

 _Sirius, I need your help._


	2. CHAPTER 1

A/N:

Thank you **_Guest_** and _**MissKristeristerin**_ for their reviews! I really hope you enjoy this chapter!

Let me know what you all think!

* * *

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter world, all rights go to J.K Rowling. I do however own my original character Nova Malfoy and her background._**

Nova had received a response from her mother's cousin instantaneously with his location and attempted to go to him the previous night but when a house elf told her father she had been sneaking, she knew she had to abort her mission. So after stealing her wand back from her father's study, she hatched plan B. Nerves bubbled in the pit of her stomach as the rubber soles of her shoes padded along the cold marble floors. She tiptoed down the hallway. It was late in the afternoon and her father was away to a business meeting so she knew that this was her chance. Her grey eyes scanned her surrounding before she slipped quietly into the drawing room that contained the Floo network.

"Mistress is sneaking again. Master ordered Keeky not to let Nova Malfoy leave." A voice rang out from behind the young witch, causing her to roll her eyes.

"I'm sorry." She muttered with the flitting feeling of guilt before raising her wand and turning to the house elf that stood behind her, " _Petrificus totalus!"_ and as her tiny body straightened like a plank and fell to the floor Nova added: " _Obliviate."_

Nova knew that her father would know this was her doing but if there was the slightest chance that she could return before him, she needed to make sure that Keeky wouldn't remember seeing her. Without another breath, she crossed the room and entered the fireplace; green flames engulfed her as she stated her destination – 12 Grimmauld Place, Islington, London.

As the young Malfoy stepped out of the fireplace into a basement kitchen with rough stony walls, silence wrapped around the occupants. Avoiding their inquisitive gazes, she glanced around the room. The long wooden table was covered in parchment and books alongside goblets, plates and cutlery and pots and cauldrons were scattered around the walls. Finally, Nova allowed herself to look at the wizards who sat before her; she knew a number of them by face or reputation but had never had the pleasure of an introduction.

"Ah Nova!" A man spoke as he stood up and shook her hand, "Remus Lupin. Sirius told us to expect you."

"Sorry I'm a day late." Nova smiled shyly in response.

"Not to worry! We are just happy that you are safe. Sirius is upstairs sweetie. I hope you're hungry, lunch will be ready soon!" Molly Weasley smiled warmly.

"Thank you."

Exhaling, she pushed the door open with a creak and stepped into the darkened hallway. The subtle smell of damp and rot reached her nostrils, causing her nose to wrinkle slightly and as she glanced at the cobwebs that hung off of the chandelier, her eyes were drawn to the snake shaped candelabras, they reminded her of ones that her mother had in the dining hall; subconsciously she gulped, realizing the danger she was putting herself in, should her family or Lord Voldemort find out that she was here. The cheerful chatter from the kitchen grew more distant as she passed the torn wallpaper that peeled off of the walls and the dust-coated portraits. It didn't take her long to realise that the run down house belonged to the Black family. Dust clouds sprung out of the carpet with every stair that the young witch took and she felt uneasy under the gaze of the portraits who gasped at her presence. _This was a bad idea._

She soon came to a wooden door through which she heard the muffled voice of Sirius Black. She silently pushed the door open to see the very man she was looking for talking to Harry Potter who was studying the Black Family Tree on one of the many dirty green tapestries.

"You're related to the Malfoys!" he exclaimed and Nova saw as he frowned slightly and his gaze lingered over her picture, "Wait...Draco has a sister?"

"Twin sister actually and that looks nothing like me." She announced her presence as she finally plucked up the courage to enter the room. _No going back now._

Harry frowned as he recognized the voice that that echoed through the room but when he spun round and came face to face with the owner, he knew that he had never seen her before.

"What took you so long? I thought you were coming yesterday!" Sirius bellowed as he pulled her into an embrace and as the young witch pulled herself away from it she was met by eyes that mirrored her own. She had been secretly corresponding with her mother's cousin since her father had agreed to allow her to attend Hogwarts for her fifth year and she had dreamt that she would be placed into Gryffindor like him. The young Malfoy had grown fond of the man and he had become a close confidant in her very lonely life.

"A rat of a house elf." She shrugged in response, "Sorry I didn't let you know, Father confiscated my wand and an owl would have been too dangerous." Sirius merely nodded in understanding before the girl added: "I must say I'm kind of disappointed that your mother isn't around to burn that ghastly picture of me off of here." As she stepped forward allowing her fingers to graze the tapestry.

Harry watched intently as the girl who looked identical to his godfather clenched her jaw. He could sense the internal battle that swirled around in her stormy grey eyes and he found himself captivated by her. On appearance alone, he couldn't quite believe that she was Draco Malfoy's twin, in fact he couldn't believe that she was a Malfoy at all as she lacked all of their infamous features. He allowed his gaze to linger on her as Sirius spoke about his up and coming trial; his stomach turned at the thought of being expelled from Hogwarts.

"If they do expel me, can I come back here and live with you?" he spoke quietly as he moved his gaze to his godfather. "I'd feel a lot better if I didn't have to go back to the Dursley's."

For the first time since her arrival, Nova met Harry's eyes, "It must be pretty awful there if you prefer it here..." she spoke as she wrinkled her nose in disgust earning a chuckle from Sirius.

"Hurry up, you three or there won't be any food left!" Molly Weasley shouted up the stairs.

After lunch and polite introductions led by Sirius, Molly commanded everyone to the dining room which was infested with Doxies and smelt like something had died in there. She soon put them to work, cleaning the house and Nova conversed with Hermoine and Ginny who already seemed to be quite taken with the girl. Fred and George asked her questions and she shrugged them off as they flirted with her. Ron frowned as he noticed his best friend's lingering gaze on the new girl and he continued to watch her carefully as if she might raise her wand and kill him in an instant, he didn't trust her in the slightest and stubbornly believed that she was just like her twin brother. His scowl deepened as Harry stepped over the rubbish bags towards the Malfoy girl who was holding more than she could carry. She laughed and muttered a thank you as he swooped in and caught a plate that had taken a dive from her grasp.

"Ron doesn't like me very much." She whispered to the boy and nodded in the direction of the redhead, smiling slightly as Harry grinned and looked to his best friend.

"He'll come around." He chuckled, laughing at Ron's facial expression. It was no secret that Ronald Weasley was stubborn to a fault. The pair spoke quietly among themselves as they threw out piles of Daily Prophets dating back years until Harry decided to confide in the Malfoy when they were out of earshot of the others. "I've been dreaming about you..." He muttered.

"You've been hanging around Fred and George too much," she answered as she fiddled with the latch on an old jewellery box that sported the Black Family crest. "Because that is a _terrible_ pick up line." She grinned as she looked up and watched his cheeks burn red.

"That's...that, no. I mean..." Harry stumbled over his words growing redder in embarrassment but he soon grinned when Nova burst out laughing.

"Harry, I was joking!" She exclaimed, nudging him with her shoulder. "But what happened? In the dream."

Nova asked as she pulled herself up to sit on the edge of the dust coated table and Harry told her about the nightmares he had been having every night since the end of last year. As she listened to him intently, her brow slightly furrowed, he told her how he would see Cedric's death and Voldemort or how he would be trapped in a long winding corridor, surrounded by locked doors.

"And when I start to panic because I can't wake up, I hear a voice telling me to open my eyes. I didn't recognize it until today, until I met you."

"That's strange..." She murmured as he met her gaze and nodded, "Have you told anyone else about them?"

"Not yet, I was going to ask Dumbledore about it."

Nova slowly nodded and hummed in response as she picked a brooch out of the now broken jewellery box. She smiled slightly as her fingertips grazed the cool silver; her mother and aunt Bellatrix had similar pins and Nova remembered admiring them when she was a lot younger and her only worries were pretty little trinkets and beating Draco in a race. Harry watched as she disappeared into a world of her own until her attention was drawn to the Black's house elf, Kreacher who was rummaging through the bin bags, shoving heirlooms under his tattered brown shirt whilst muttering profanities and scowling through his bloodshot eyes. Sirius threatened him with clothes only to receive a snarky comment from the elf that told him to do what he wanted however things escalated when Kreacher snorted through his long bulbous nose and added: "but Master will not turn Kreacher away because Kreacher knows what they are up to, he is plotting against the Dark Lord with these Mudbloods and traitors."

A few gasps were sounded around the room as the elf spat at Nova's feet and called her a traitor, prompting Sirius to grab him by the scruff of the neck and toss him out of the room, despite the shouts of protest from Hermoine who truly hated the mistreatment of House Elves. The labelling did not bother the young Malfoy however, it simply reminded her why she had come to 12 Grimmauld Place that afternoon.

"Sirius." Nova spoke vying for his attention as she hadn't had the chance to talk to her relative in private since her arrival and the longer she stayed, the more anxious she became. Her father would return to the Manor soon and her face paled at the thought of the fall out that would ensue as a result of her disobedience; she had after all broken into his office, stolen her wand, assaulted a house elf and used the Floo network without his permission. Sirius looked up and Nova maintained eye contact with the man who could easily be mistaken for her father until he turned to leave the room, ushering her to follow him. It only took a moment to relay the information she had; the prophecy, Harry and her father – it wasn't much but perhaps someone would understand what it all meant. She studied him as his brow creased and then rose in shock before he nodded in understanding and wandered back into the dining room, Nova in tow.

"It is what we thought." He spoke cryptically, the young witch frowned with curiosity as the adults exhibited responses similar to Sirius'. _Were they already aware of the prophecy? What did it say?_

Her questioning thoughts were soon interrupted as the room descended into silence when Severus Snape entered, Harry frowned slightly as he felt Nova tense beside him. She silently questioned the professor's presence as she saw his pale stoic face and near black eyes – she had often seen him around Malfoy Manor and she was sure that he was a Death Eater. Gasping as their eyes accidently met, she swam through a swirl of memories, feeling dizzy as he snapped: "Get. Out. Of. My. Head."

"I'm sorry, I...I didn't mean to." Nova stuttered as she removed her gaze from the man in front of her, tensed her jaw and looked at her hands.

"So it's true..." Arthur Weasley whispered to himself as he watched the girl use legilimency without the use of a wand or the need for an incantation. All eyes were on the witch who was powerful beyond her years and she had never felt so uncomfortable. Harry looked around in confusion, unsure of what had happened as Nova raised her head to look around the room in anticipation.

"You're a Legilimens...and you can cast a Patronus." Hermoine spoke up, breaking the silence as she smiled in admiration towards her new friend.

"Wait, does that mean Malfoy can do all that?" Ron interrupted as he lent forward towards the girl who assumed he was talking about her twin brother, Draco. Curiosity briefly halted his suspicion and he shuddered at the thought of Draco Malfoy poking about in his head.

As she opened her mouth to answer, a hearty chuckle reverberated through the room, "Nova, here, has more magic in her little finger than her brother has all together!" Sirius grinned in pride. The notion was strange to the young witch, no one had ever been proud of her before; she had always been the unpredictable family secret, hidden from her father in the shadow of her brother.

"Then I guess we are lucky that you are on our side." Remus Lupin smiled warmly.

The young Malfoy smiled in response before she realized the time and her face dropped: "I have to go." She spoke hurriedly, "Sorry. If my father finds out I left, he'll kill me." As she turned to leave a thought crossed her mind and she paused as her eyes searched for a pair of green ones: "Good luck with the trial, Harry. I'm sure it will be okay."

The pair shared a smile before Nova turned on her heel and headed towards the kitchen.

As she exited the green flames of the fireplace, she came face to face with an extremely red faced Lucius Malfoy. Her eyes widened and her breath hitched in her throat as she inspected her father's thunderous glare. She grew uneasy as he took a sip of his whisky and returned his stare to her. The man barely blinked as he remained silent, his ice blue eyes hardened.

Nova shifted on her heels as he wordlessly scrutinized her and he stood, towering over her.

"Where have you been?" He asked in a tone that caused the girl to blink and bite the inside of her cheek. "I said. Where. Have. You. Been?"

"Nowhere." She muttered, uselessly. The young witch would never tell him where she had been but as her mind raced under the pressure of his murderous look, all excuses abandoned her.

"Look at me when I am talking to you!" He roared causing the girl's jaw to clench and she slowly brought her eyes up to meet his; defiance swirled around in the greyness of her eyes and it infuriated him further. "Tell me where you were, Nova."

"I told you." She spoke directly into his face, " _Nowhere._ "

Her eyes shut as her father's hand collided with her cheek and as she lifted her reddened face and gingerly wiped the blood off of her lip, she stared at him with tear stung eyes as he bellowed: "I AM YOUR FATHER AND I DEMAND SOME RESPECT!" Fury bubbled inside of the girl as she armed herself with her wand, her expression grew darker as her grip grew tighter.

"And I am your daughter, not just an inconvenience that you can lock away when it suits you." Nova spoke, her voice dangerously low. For a split second, she appeared to be a completely different person and her father feared her; feared the darkness and power that lay beneath her usually kind eyes. Feared his little girl who showed a side that was eerily similar to that his master.

"Father!" A voice shouted as it sliced the air between the two, "It was my fault. I sent her to collect something for me."

Lucius eyed Draco suspiciously as he stepped in front of his sister, "Then why would she lie?"

"Because she didn't want to get me into trouble!" Draco spoke as his grey eyes met his sister's. Her eyes suddenly lightened and her face softened as he defended her. "It was the Hand of Glory." He muttered, "You told me a few years ago that I wasn't allowed it so I sent Nova to Borgin & Burkes for me."

"Hand me your wand." Their father spoke but as none of his children moved he added, more forcefully, "Nova. I won't tell you again." The witch refused to move until her brother wrested it out of her hand. "Get out of my sight." Lucius spat and as Draco took his sister's hand and led her out of the room, they overheard their father talking to one of the house elves: "Lock her door and do not let her out until I say so."

Nova's face paled but as she motioned to argue Draco dragged her upstairs: "I'll come back and see you tomorrow and you're going to explain." He muttered as he left her with a kiss on the forehead.

The wooden door closed with a creak and the sound of locks clicking echoed through the silence. Despite Draco taking the blame Nova was punished, as always and she was furious; she punched and kicked the door and threw over her bookcase. And as she lost control of her magic, her temper flared, the windows shattered inwards and she screamed:

"You can't do this!"


	3. CHAPTER 2

**A/N:**

Thank you **Chels** , **Guest** and **Olivia0707** for your reviews!

Let me know what you all think about this chapter.

* * *

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter world, all rights go to J.K Rowling. I do however own my original character Nova Malfoy and her background.**

The soft breeze tugged at the soft curls of her dark hair as she sat cross-armed on her bed surrounded in the shattered glass that no one had bothered repairing. Her grey eyes stormed in fury as a darkness swirled in and out. Her father was leaving her to stew; he always knew to leave the girl for at least 48 hours before attempting to reason with her and so he only sent house elves with her meals twice a day – although the royally stubborn witch had refused them. The Malfoy thought that he had always done what was best for his unpredictable daughter, done what was best for her erratic power, but as he sat drunk from their argument, he began to question himself. The darkness that dampened the light in her eyes had shook him to the core and he could even go as far as saying that he feared her more than the Dark Lord himself.

After Nova's accident, life hadn't been easy for The Malfoys and be it obstinate pride or the fear of loss but Lucius and Narcissa had always sheltered the twins, Nova more so. As the brown and blonde haired woman sat across from her husband, she took in the devastation in his cold grey eyes. She reiterated to him that their daughter was not her brother; the woman had always admired her daughter's differences and was always left dumbfounded by her eyes in particular – they held the same pool of grey but where her father's and her brother's froze the hearts of the onlookers, Nova's wrapped them in a blanket of warmth; her eyes were a safe haven from the coldest of winters, a warmth in a frosted world. Narcissa Malfoy had known from the moment she first held her daughter, that the little girl was different - Different from her ancestors, different from her peers and most definitely different from the world in which they lived in – and it terrified her. Differences were a magnet to the Dark Lord, traits he wanted to expunge or power he wished to exploit. And with her natural abilities in Legilimency and Occlumency, Nova Malfoy was a nuclear warhead.

* * *

The wooden door of her room creaked open and Nova's petulant scowl landed on her father. She watched as he wordlessly entered, repaired her window and sat on the end of her bed. The air between them was, as always, thick with tension. The young witch stared at her father unwaveringly, waiting for him to elicit some form of movement.

"I have spoken to your mother and Albus Dumbledore." He started, "If you still wish to attend Hogwarts with Draco then we will go today. You will have a private sorting ceremony this afternoon and then we will get your things before Diagon Alley is swarming with mudbloods."

"Muggle-borns." Nova spoke lowly as she stared at her father.

"What?"

"Swarming with Muggle-borns, not _mudbloods_." She spoke again more defiantly, frowning as she sneered the derogatory term.

The youngest Malfoy watched as her father's eyes hardened into a glare and his jaw clenched; she had always known how to push his buttons, intentionally or not: "Get your things. We're going soon."

Nova smiled as he left the room. Despite her discrepancies, her parents were allowing her to attend school with her brother; something she had always yearned for since the day she had dropped him off at the platform for his first year. Her parents were allowing her _freedom_ and it was the greatest gift of all. Slipping on her shoes, she stumbled through the door of Draco's room, startling him as it crashed into the wall but the young witch didn't care, she was being sorted today and she wanted to share it with her brother.

"Only if you apologise to father. I'm not spending the day with you two arguing," Draco stared seriously at his sister, "besides you're just going to anger him again when you aren't put in Slytherin." Although the girl could detect the jest in his tone, her face paled as she remembered her dream. "I'm joking, Nova…He'll just be sorely disappointed." He almost smirked as he left her standing, frowning, in his room.

Taking a deep breath and straightening her posture, she began down the marble staircase for the first time in a week – the first time since her father had caught her returning from Sirius'. Her brother hadn't asked her where she had been and she was glad for that, they had always promised to tell each other the truth and had a mutual understanding that they would decline to provide an answer, rather than lie – it was a silly thing they had done when they were younger, so that the other could plead ignorance when they lied to their parents (or rather when Nova lied to their parents) but it had become second nature to them. Her father stood at the bottom of the stairs, holding her wand out to her as a sign of forgiveness but, much to her mother and brother's relief, as the girl reached him, she ignored the wand and hugged him whilst muttering an apology. The Malfoys had never been ones for hugging but in that moment it appeared appropriate and spoke the words that Nova didn't want to utter.

* * *

Her grey eyes scanned the Headmaster's office in awe. The large circular room was etched in gold and the walls were lined with portraits of the past headmasters who viewed her like a puzzle they had yet to solve. Her curious fingertips grazed the tiny silver trinkets that whirred and puffed on the large claw-footed desk. The door soon opened and they were joined by Albus Dumbledore; a tall, smiling man with a long silvery beard that matched his hair dressed in long purple robes. He smiled over his half-moon glasses at the girl, ignoring the look of disgust on her father's face.

After introductions were made, the headmaster pulled down a tattered old wizard's hat and sat the surprisingly quiet Malfoy on the stool in front of him. She was secretly glad that her father hadn't let her attending the Sorting Ceremony with the first years, it would be humiliating enough being the new girl.

Her eyes met Draco's who offered her a half-smile as their father's gaze burned a hole into the side of her head. Nerves exploded in her stomach as she tapped her foot; she felt sick. As the old wizard placed the hat on her head, she jumped as it burst into to life.

"Another challenge!" It trawled, "Hmm. Cunning and Slytherin runs through your veins. You have potential." Nova noticed her father's eyes light up but they soon dimmed as the enchanted hat continued, "But your courageous… _very_ courageous. You're defiant and gallant, I can see it in your head. Yes…it has to be…" Her heart stopped as everyone present held their breath, awaiting an answer, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Nova's mouth gaped open but as she went to argue, her father stepped in. She stared wide-eyed at the floor. The young witch had always known that she was different to the rest of her family but the smallest fraction of her soul willed her to be normal. Act normal. It seemed impossible however as she was sorted into Gryffindor; Nova Malfoy was nothing like her family members and now the whole wizarding world would know about it.

"A lion from a line of snakes…" Dumbledore muttered in astonishment.

The family in front of him frowned at his words, assuming they were the ramblings of an old fool. Nova rose from the stool on which she was placed and wandered numbly over towards the phoenix that sat on its golden perch. She had never seen such a beautiful creature, it was mesmerising. She stared into its eyes as her father tried to bribe the headmaster into placing her in Slytherin and instinctively reached a hand out; half expecting to be bitten, the young witch was pleasantly surprised when it reached its head down to her and stroked its cheek against her delicate hand. Dumbledore watched the interaction as a smile etched itself on the girl's face. Kindness oozed from her and the headmaster knew that she was different, an enigma. He tried to get a read on her as she glanced at him but was surprised to find that she blocked him without even realising. He had a feeling about the girl. _A lion from a line of snakes._

"Nova, Draco. We're going." Their father spoke, drawing the youngest's gaze from the phoenix in front of her. Her father looked furious as he stormed out the door and as Dumbledore told her that he would see her September first, she fought the urge to jump up and down in excitement. Draco rolled his eyes at the grin that spread across his sister's face before following his father out of the office.

As she went to leave a thought crossed her mind and she paused, looking around to check her father was out of earshot: "Professor, how did Harry's trial go?"

Dumbledore used this as a chance to confirm his suspicions and so instead of answering the curious girl, he removed his half-moon glasses and looked directly into her eyes, willing her to use her abilities. A second or two passed before he felt his memory of the trial float to the forefront of his mind, he was surprised that the young witch had successfully plucked the memory that she wished to view from his mind; she surprised him further by looking away once she saw the answer to her question. The purple cladded wizard watched as the girl clearly interpreted her findings and looked back at him.

"Thank you." The young Malfoy smiled and turned on her heel to leave before hesitating once more, "Can you tell Sirius that I'm okay? I being watched constantly, I can't communicate."

The headmaster nodded as the girl was called on by her impatient father. He watched her leave and pondered over everything he had just learned. It was her.

"A lion from a line of snakes. A mind-walker with the ability to challenge _him_." He recited, having finally found his answer.

* * *

Lucius strode in front, head held high in importance. Nova was nervous, he hadn't uttered a word to her since they had left Hogwarts, opting to ignore her as the tailor measured her for her robes. Draco watched his father with caution as he bought the Gryffindor robes with a tight lipped grimace; he would be lying if he said he was surprised that his sister wasn't in Slytherin – she always had been the black sheep of the family.

As the family entered Flourish and Blotts bookshop, Nova stared at the vast surfaces – all covered in thick books and parchment – and a smile graced her lips. She was happy, truly happy, to be experiencing the world that so many took for granted. Draco walked closely beside her, almost protectively, glad that she had enough control over her magic, to be allowed to live normally. As their father browsed their booklists he remained eerily silent, although his jaw had slackened.

"I'm sorry, Father." She muttered after Draco had widened his eyes at her and nodded towards their father before pushing her forward. "I know I've been – "

"It's not your fault." He interrupted.

"It's not?!" She gasped in unison with her brother. Their father always blamed Nova, she had grown accustomed to being punished, even if Draco tried to take some of the heat and so both of the twins were astonished that she wasn't being blamed for being the only Malfoy who hadn't been placed in Slytherin.

"No. That old fool wouldn't know left from right anymore and he can't stand our superiority." Lucius sneered as he placed a pile of books on Nova's arms who cringed at his explanation but accepted the small victory nonetheless.

* * *

Under the protection of her brother, Nova found the Hogwarts Express journey less traumatic than she had envisioned. The Slytherins in their carriage were surprisingly nice to the out of place Gryffindor although the Malfoy girl couldn't help but conclude it was due to the fear Draco had instilled in them during his previous four years. She wouldn't complain, and was more than happy to answer the questions that Pansy Parkinson asked incessantly; the young witch now understood her brother's complaints about the girl in his daily letters.

If Nova could pinpoint the cause of her anxiety, it wouldn't be the whispers that she was bound to receive when it was announced that she was the first Malfoy to be placed in Gryffindor. It wouldn't be the initial loneliness she would inevitably feel until she had made some friends and it wouldn't be the chance that she could lose control again, should she become too overwhelmed. It would be the fear that she would grow distant from her twin brother – they had always been each other's closest confidants, sharing their deepest and darkest thoughts despite the other's disapproval. Nova, by no means, liked the person that Draco was around other people but she needed him and he needed her. The girl intended to continue helping the Order of the Phoenix as much as she possibly could, despite her family connections to the Dark Lord and she just hoped that should her brother find out, he wouldn't abandon her.

Her grey eyes stared out of the window and she found herself thinking about Sirius, making a mental note to send him a letter that night. If the girl was honest, she had no idea what to expect as everything she had ever learned about the school for witchcraft and wizardry had been from Draco but as she watched him interacting with the other students, getting everything he wanted, she realised that he a bully. However, she couldn't deny that she was going to be a hypocrite and allow his reputation to act as a safety net should she fall.

The train drew to a slow halt and the carriage began to empty until it was just Draco, Crabbe, Goyle and herself. Draco's goons carried the Malfoy twins' things and headed towards the door. Nova felt slightly nauseous but as her brother tugged at her arm gently and gave her a reassuring nod, she stood and followed him off the train.

"I'm surprised the Ministry's still letting you walk around free. Better enjoy it while you can. I expect there's a cell in Azkaban with your name on it." Draco taunted as they passed Harry, Ron and Hermione. Harry lunged at him as Ron held him back. "What did I tell you? Complete nutter!" He spoke to his twin sister who was less than impressed.

"Just stay away from me!" Harry bellowed at the Malfoy boy, causing the girl to stop. For the first time since the day at Grimmauld Place, the Malfoy that he had surprisingly been longing to see, turned to look at him but as she opened her mouth to say something, she was interrupted by her brother calling for her to hurry up. The Boy Who Lived was slightly disappointed when she looked at him apologetically before following her brother immediately, leaving him to wonder about the words that never left her mouth.

* * *

"I'm going to be sick." The witch muttered as she paced back and forth. "Everyone is going to stare at me like I'm some freak. Hey look over there! There's a Malfoy in _Gryffindor_ and then I'll forever be known as Nova "The not so Malfoy" Malfoy! Although from what I've seen of you that's probably not a bad thing!" The erratic girl ranted as she paced faster and faster.

"Stop it!" Draco scolded as he grabbed her shoulders and forced her to stand still, "People are staring."

Nova took one last deep breath, to steady her nerves before her brother pushed her through the tall golden doors and into the Great Hall.

"Ah, just in time! I would like to introduce you all to our new student," Dumbledore began as the twins entered, both with their heads held high in true Malfoy fashion. "Miss Nova Malfoy! I'm sure you will all make her feel welcome."

All eyes were on her as she separated from her brother and headed to the Gryffindor table as he claimed his seat at the Slytherin one. She sat in the spare seat beside The Boy Who Lived who, as it appeared, had been the topic of conversation before her entrance. Nova had never felt so uncomfortable, she shifted in her seat as the whispers deafened her. Every breathing being in the Great Hall had something to say and as she brought her eyes over the top table, she saw that the professors weren't any different. Hermione offered her a smile that oozed pity. It was a look that Nova had been receiving since the day of her accident and she loathed it. Glancing down at her hands, she caught Harry's gaze in her peripheral vision and as she brought her grey eyes up to meet his green ones he offered her a reassuring smile. She stared through the crowd to seek out her brother who was already trying to communicate with her – shaking his head slightly, in warning, at her choice of companion but she smiled as he tore his gaze from her and snapped at two Slytherin boys who sneered in her direction. _At least he's still on my side._

The headmaster introduced the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Dolores Umbridge who was dressed in candy pink from head to toe, causing the Malfoy girl to scowl in disgust. The scowl only deepened as the woman spoke in her sickly sweet voice that could cleave a soul from its body: "Thank you, headmaster, for those kind words of welcome. And how lovely to see all your bright happy faces smiling up at me. I'm sure we're all going to be very good friends. The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. Although each headmaster has brought something new to this historic school, progress for the sake of progress must be discouraged. Let us preserve what must be preserved, perfect what can be perfected and prune practices that ought to be prohibited."

As the annoying chirpy woman sat down, the feast arrived and the room erupted into cheerful chatter. Nova's sense still tingled as eyes burned a hole into her head and she was grateful for the presence of Fred and George Weasley who spoke to her like they would a friend and momentarily took her mind off of the fact that she was the feast's entertainment. The young girl wasn't hungry, so she pushed her food around the plate with her silver cutlery. She hadn't really spoken to anyone, other than the twins, but she found that she had nothing of importance to say and so elected to remain relatively quiet until she was slightly more inconspicuous.

"Your brother is being absolutely foul; he's had the prefect badge all of two minutes…" Hermione started, only to be interrupted.

"I'm not his keeper." Nova muttered, going back to picking at her food as Hermione opened her mouth and closed it a few times before opting to drop the subject. It wasn't that she intended to be rude but she hadn't spoken to the trio in a few weeks and had no intentions of being their inside spy on all things Draco.

"Does Draco know about Sirius?" Harry whispered to the girl who sighed audibly and turned to look at him.

"I don't know. Why?" she almost snapped, making the boy feel slightly guilty that they had ignored her problems and badgered her about her brother without considering to ask how she had been or why they hadn't heard from her since she left the Black's house.

"Just something he said on the train. That he'd be _dogging_ my footsteps in case I step out of line." He responded, looking into her grey eyes expectantly.

"It was pretty reckless turning up to the station so he maybe does but he won't do anything about it."

"How can you be so sure?" Ron whisper-shouted across the table.

"I only shared a womb with him for 9 months." Nova rolled her eyes, "I know him like the back of my hand. He won't do anything."

"But…" Harry started only to be interrupted by the girl slamming her cutlery down on the table, attracting the curious gazes of the nearby Gryffindors.

Nova couldn't stand it much longer – the whispers, the looks and finally the interrogation, and so she rose from her seat and walked out of the Great Hall, ignoring the inquisitive looks she received from her peers and her twin. She had had enough; enough of being stared at like she had sprouted two heads. Enough of feeling insecure under their scrutiny. Enough of feeling like a disappointment, enough of feeling like an animal trapped in a zoo as everyone banged on the glass and certainly enough of being questioned, she wasn't there to give an insight into her brother. So she left, leaving the Golden Trio in astonishment at her fiery temper.


	4. CHAPTER 3

A/N: Please let me know what you all think about this chapter!

* * *

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter world, all rights go to J.K Rowling. I do however own my original character Nova Malfoy and her background.**

Nova sat in the common room with the Fred and George, who had joined her shortly after she had left the feast. She laughed as they oozed with excitement over the new line of Skiving Snackboxes and their plans to start a business – the older duo had informed the younger girl that Harry had given them his winnings from the Triwizard Tournament (with the promise that she would keep it a secret). The girl had grown rather fond of the twins and they had become fast friends of hers despite the age gap; she felt at ease with them as they completely understood her feelings and her loyalty to her twin. In truth, the witch didn't feel the slightest drop of guilt at storming out of the Great Hall the way she did; she would do _anything_ to protect her brother, even if it meant momentarily disappointing her friends. Nova Malfoy was very much her own person, used to being alone and depending on no one, and that was a trait that she knew would come back to bite her but as she sat in the company of her new friends she realised that perhaps individuality wasn't such a bad thing. That small notion helped the young Malfoy to quickly adjust to ignoring the whispers and inquisitive glances that appeared to follow her more closely than her shadow. She took solace in the circular tower as she realised that her fellow Gryffindors had accepted her and the topic of conversation was back to the very person she had just snapped at. Silence soon snuffed out the loud accusations of lies and ignorance regarding Voldemort's return as Harry entered the common room – Nova rolled her eyes at the underwhelming subtlety as George grinned at her expression.

Whilst Harry argued with Seamus Finnegan because his mother believed the Potter boy was lying about the return of the Dark Lord, the rest of the students watched. Nova felt a slight compulsion to stand up for the Boy Who Lived but she inevitably decided to keep her head down and cherish the moment, revelling in the fact that she had successfully blended into the background. As Ron entered and broke up the argument, the Malfoy took that as her chance to slip out unnoticed and head to the girl's dormitory.

The whole experience was overwhelming – new school, new bed, new friends – and so she was glad when she finally sat down on her four poster bed beside the window. She craved silence.

* * *

 _A cold bony hand clutched her ankle as she kicked and thrashed, desperate to get away. Shadows shimmered around her as the water seeped into her lungs. Her limbs turned blue and her eyes burned as blood flushed to their surface. Waves crashed into her, tossing her to and fro as the hand squeezed her ankle and yanked her downwards. Her brunette waves flew ahead of her as she was propelled backwards and her tiny fingertips tingled as a fire burned deep within her core, desperate to cling onto life. Seaweed tendrils gripped her throat, tightening with every moment, crushing her. As her lungs burned and she sunk further and further and her hands reached up and up, an almighty roar escaped her lips._

She shot up in her bed, trembling uncontrollably. She was frozen to the bone as she scanned the worried faces who glanced down at her. A soft hand wrapped around her arm and pulled her from the warmth of her new bed and it was then that she noticed the destruction. Her grey eyes swam with fear and her stomach churned as she took in the flame licked curtains. Her hands trembled as she was gently guided over the shattered glass and strewn books, past the fearful eyes of the girls who shared her dorm. Her mind flushed into overdrive: _she could have hurt someone_.

"I'm…I'm so sorry." She muttered as the girls told her they were fine. Salted tears scorched a cut that had appeared on her face, diluting the blood and forcing it to glide down her pale cheeks. In a daze, she was steered out of the common room, where the boys had heard the scream that pierced the walls and awaited information. Unable to comprehend their stares or process what had happened, she stared straight ahead. "Where's Draco?" she managed to ask in her dumbfounded state, "I need my brother."

Before she knew it she sat in the headmaster's office, biting her knuckle in an attempt to steady her tremor. The old wizard studied her tear stained face that seeped anxiousness before he handed her a cup of tea and took his seat across from her. The tea danced from side to side within its confinement as the saucer shook violently. As he cleared his throat, the tormented grey eyes snapped up to meet him.

"My sister, Ariana, was much like you." Albus Dumbledore began cautiously but as he realised he had the girl's attention he continued, "When she was young she was attacked by Muggles…it terrified her and from then on her magic was uncontrollable." He watched as the cogs turned in the young witch's mind and she frowned slightly, looking at her hands in shame. "What I mean to say is…sometimes things happen and they are outside of our control but with a little help, we can learn to adjust."

"You can help me?" Nova whispered as her stormy grey eyes looked into his blue ones.

"There is always a way." The headmaster smiled. The young Malfoy bared a striking resemblance to his sister's case and the old man saw her as a chance to make amends, a chance to do what he should have done for Ariana. "It happens when you are sleeping, correct?"

"Yes. Or when I'm angry…" The girl muttered in response, she was truly ashamed of what she had become and the damage that seemed to follow her like the plague. Nova Malfoy was a bad omen. She jumped, slightly startled as Fawkes the Phoenix landed beside her and crooked his neck, allowing a tear to drip onto her hand. Her eyes widened in shock as the small cut closed and disappeared from sight.

"Phoenixes are extremely loyal creatures." The headmaster nodded towards his pet, "He is fond of you, I suspect that he senses the goodness in your heart."

She smiled lightly in response as the remark warmed her anxious heart. Her hand trailed the bright red and orange feathers on the magnificent creature's head as the large wooden door creaked open to reveal the other Malfoy twin. In a heartbeat, Nova had thrown herself into his arms as the floodgates opened and a tsunami of emotion engulfed her. Dumbledore raised his eyebrows in slight surprise as he witnessed the Malfoy boy whispering words of comfort to his sister, holding her tight in case she should fall apart without him, it was a side of him that many did not realise had existed under his cold exterior.

After the girl had calmed significantly and turned to leave under the direction of her brother, the old wizard spoke up with a friendly smile, "I shall ask Professor Snape to brew you a potion - something to rid you of the nightmares – and I will check up on you regularly. You know where I am, should you need anything."

* * *

The door to Snape's classroom creaked open as the Malfoy twins entered. Draco kept a protective arm around his younger twin as the students turned in their seats to behold them. Harry, Ron and Hermione viewed the girl's swollen eyes and slightly blotched cheeks, alongside the cut that landed just below her right cheekbone. Harry understood the terror of nightmares and pitied the girl, he wanted to tell her that it would be alright as he had promised his godfather that he would look out for her but he was at a loss for words and he highly doubted that her brother would allow him anywhere near her. Nova absorbed the many looks of inquisition and fear as she clutched her potions book tight to her chest, leaving nail indentations on the spine.

"What are you looking at?" Her brother sneered at a table of students causing them to gulp and remove their gaze from her. If it weren't for Draco's protection, Nova knew that she would have sent an owl to her father, asking him to collect her immediately. She sat in the seat beside her twin at the Slytherin table before turning to glance at Hermione who offered her a smile in encouragement. The girl felt incomprehensibly vulnerable but the knowledge that her new friend would remain by her side – despite the possible danger – helped to alleviate some of her crippling angst.

Potions had always been a strength of hers, one of the only traits that she shared with her father, and so she relaxed slightly as she brewed her cauldron of Draught of Peace. For the first time that morning, she felt like she was in control of something and it helped her greatly.

"Are you alright?" Draco muttered, careful that no one else had caught his show of concern. His cold grey eyes met his sister's warm ones as she answered him in a hushed whisper.

"It was different this time…Draco, I set fire to every drape in the dorm and I felt the power in my dream. I, I…felt _stronger_." Fear swamped her eyes as she awaited his response. A subtle frown etched itself across her face as she whispered almost inaudibly, "I'm terrified of what I'll do."

Her fear was mirrored briefly in the older Malfoy's eyes until he locked it away: "You are going to be okay. No matter what. I'll make sure of it." He spoke authoritatively, causing his sister to nod and sigh slightly in relief. He had never let her down before and so Nova gladly believed every word.

"A light silver vapour should now be rising from your potion." Snape spoke, interrupting the conversations that reverberated off of the stone walls of the dungeon classroom. As he glanced around the room his dark eyes landed on the youngest Malfoy's near perfect potion. "Very well done, Miss Malfoy." He muttered causing the girl to smile slightly as he wandered past her towards the back of the room, "Potter, what is that supposed to be?"

The older Malfoy twin and the rest of the Slytherins laughed tauntingly as Harry struggled, humiliated by the teacher. Nova cringed, feeling embarrassed for the boy as Snape emptied his cauldron and refused to allow him to submit anything for testing; she could almost see the steam coming out of his bright red ears and his seething glare could have killed someone. Her attention was soon drawn from the Potter boy when Goyle's flagon exploded beside her as he filled it with his concoction and his robes erupted into flames. Her heartbeat increased and her stomach lurched at the sight of the flames, reminding her of the morning and her destructive nature so she blinked back her concern and quickly filled her own vial, submitting it to Professor Snape as she darted out of the room towards the nearest bathroom.

* * *

Her throat burned from retching nothing but stomach acid as she entered the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. Nova was beyond stressed out and it definitely shone across her face in neon flashing lights. On her way past she grabbed Draco's spare quill as he rolled his eyes at her carelessness when she explained that she had already lost hers and she observed Professor Umbridge, who was dressed head to toe in fluffy pink, as she sat in the seat that Hermione had saved for her. The young witch fought the urge to roll her eyes as the small woman demanded that the class address her with enthusiasm and answer her questions in unison; she was sure that, never in her life, had she been spoken to in such a degrading manner and it infuriated her.

The lesson got progressively worse as Professor Umbridge declared that they would not be using magic and instead, were to sit and read. The entirety of the fifth year class stared at Hermione in awe as Nova grinned in pride when the Granger girl refused to open her textbook and began to argue with the woman. Chaos soon multiplied within the stony classroom and the Malfoy girl's eyebrows reached her hairline as she leaned back in her seat and watched as the woman looked as if she might explode under the pressure of the disobedient class who questioned her authority with regards to the work they needed to complete in preparation for their OWLs. The pink marshmallow of a woman was adamant that there was no need to use magic, for the students to learn how to protect themselves because apparently, there was no threat to their lives. _No Voldemort._

As Harry argued his case, Nova made a point of remaining quiet – even if it did require biting a chunk out of her tongue. With her overly loyal brother at the back of the classroom, the witch needed to keep a low profile, keep her thoughts to herself if she wanted them to remain unknown to her father (she suspected that Draco wouldn't keep something as big as that from him). It was not that Nova was afraid of her father, nor too cowardly to publicly stand by Harry Potter, it was that she feared what would happen to her family if You Know Who were to find out that the daughter of his most loyal followers was determined to destroy him.

* * *

The cold breeze tugged gently at the loose hairs on Nova's head as a chill ran up her spine. She sat on the hill beside the tall shard shaped rocks above Hagrid's cabin – it was as good a place as any to mull over tiny little thoughts that attached themselves to the deepest and darkest corners of the mind. She was feeling slightly overwhelmed. The youngest Malfoy had been at Hogwarts for two days now and she wasn't entirely sure that it was everything she had hoped for – she often felt lonely as she bottled up her thoughts and she had begun to realise how easy her life was before. At Malfoy Manor, she wanted for nothing; At Hogwarts, she was unsure if she fit in. It was undeniable that the girl has made friends, she had the Weasleys, Harry, Hermione and even a handful of Slytherins but the Black Sheep of the Malfoy Family knew that there weren't many who truly understood her especially after her loss of control. She missed being in the safety of her room snuggled in the safety net that her parents had provided for her; at Malfoy Manor, Nova didn't have to worry about her nightmares or her lack of control, she didn't have to worry for anyone else's safety. The youngest Malfoy was however, glad that her brother was still there for her but she desperately missed being able to talk to him, every hour of every day, as he had been her only friend for the first 15 years of her life; her rock.

"Mind if I join you?" A voice sounded out, pulling her from her thoughts. The young witch glanced up at the bespectacled boy whose raven hair sat array on top of his head, only slightly hiding his lightening scar, and nodded. "Are you okay? I…I heard about…"

Nova contemplated her answer, _was she okay?_ "I honestly don't know but I think its best if I go home…I can't hurt anyone there." She mumbled as she narrowed her grey eyes and scanned the horizon before glancing back at the boy who was speechless. "What happened to your hand?"

Instinctively, Harry covered the red marks that ran across his hand from Professor Umbridge's detention. He debated lying but found that he couldn't. "Umbridge made me use a Black Quill during detention until the message sunk in…"

"What message?"

" _I must not tell lies."_ The boy answered as he looked at the girl, finding it surprisingly easy to confide in her. "Everyone thinks I'm a raving lunatic. No one believes me."

"I do." Nova spoke softly as she returned his gaze, "You don't have to do this alone, Harry. There are people that want to help, people that understand."

"Do you?"

"No, I completely disobeyed my father to help the Order because I wanted Voldemort to win." Sarcasm laced her tone and she rolled her eyes before the pair grinned at each other. "But seriously, I understand what it's like to feel like an outcast. I mean, for every person that is calling you a liar, there's someone calling me a freak."

Harry smiled at her words, the young Malfoy girl seemed to know exactly what to say and it lifted his spirits (even if he did feel a little guilty for taking his anger out on Ron and Hermione). "What happened to you?"

Every muscle in Nova's body tensed at the question but she knew that it was one that she would have to answer eventually. The boy beside her noticed the hardened glaze that encased the eyes that mirrored his godfather's. The girl fiddled with her fingers, trying to find the words until eventually, they seemed to flow out of her mouth with ease and so she told him everything. The memory was forever imprinted at the forefront of her mind; the mixture of her laugh and her brother's as the pushed each other, how the wooden pier sliced her foot as she lost her footing, the way the ice cold water pierced her ears and the burning of her lungs until her father's strong arms wrapped around her tiny body. Harry watched her, listening intently as she spoke the words of her nightmares and told the tale of the day she lost control of her magic. "My father spent the next eleven years, with the help of every witch and wizard he could think of, trying to teach me control. I can contain it for most of the time whilst I'm awake but I still have nightmares and…well you saw what happened yesterday morning. Draco blames himself but it was an accident."

"You're not alone either." Harry informed and instead of offering his condolences like many before him, merely turned his green eyes to look out to the horizon as he placed a hand on hers. Nova smiled at the gesture, relieved that she wasn't expected to answer any further questions. After a few minutes, Harry broke the silence: "I feel so angry. All the time."

"It's normal…" The Malfoy girl began as she turned to face him, "Harry you watched one of your friends _die_ and there was nothing you could do to prevent it. I know what it's like to have something haunt you every single time you close your eyes and if you add that on top of Voldemort's return? I'd think you were a psychopath if you weren't angry." The girl spoke as the boy listened to every word that slipped out of her mouth, it surprised him how easily she calmed him but he wasn't about to complain. Harry Potter was just glad to have a friend who appeared to understand him completely. "It's getting cold; we should go inside." She added as she pushed herself off of the grass and dusted down her trousers.

* * *

As the pair made their way into the Great Hall, many of the students turned in their seats to look them. Nova's eyes caught Dumbledore who sat at the staff table, nodding in a manner that made her think he knew something that he wasn't telling her but she pushed the thought aside as she approached the Gryffindor table.

"There's our nuclear weapon!" Fred Weasley announced as Nova sat beside Hermione.

"That is so insensitive!" Hermione hissed as Nova fought the whisper of a smile.

"It's a term of endearment." The twins protested in unison as the Malfoy shook her head and laughed lightly.

"We were wondering where you were hiding." George spoke with a hint of concern for his younger friend who he hadn't seen since McGonagall had escorted her out of the common room the previous morning.

"Probably away from prying eyes!" The Granger girl spoke, irritated by the stares that her friend was receiving from the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables – she had safely assumed that Nova's brother had something to do with the Slytherin table's ignorance.

When the youngest Weasley sibling joined the group, she perched herself on the seat beside Nova, smiling at the girl she had grown quite fond of: "Why is everyone staring?"

"They're scared Nova'll blow them up." Ron muttered through a mouthful of bread, only to receive a slap to the arm from Hermoine.

" _Or_ it's because the daughter of Voldemort's most loyal followers just walked in with _Harry Potter_."

Nova's face paled slightly at Hermione's statement as she turned her gaze to Harry, who held a similar expression. She hadn't thought that anyone would find a deeper meaning in their friendship and it worried her. Her mind scurried with unanswered questions: Is that really what people were thinking? Did it really matter who she was friends with? What if her father found out? Or worse…What would happen to her parents if You Know Who found out?

Seeing the deep set frown and expression of worry on the girl's face, Fred spoke up and interrupted her thoughts: "Or…" He dragged out as a grin spread across his face, "It's because they form Hogwarts' resident freak show."

His words sang an undoubtable truth but as the group laughed together, Nova didn't mind that she had destroyed the dormitories in her sleep. She didn't mind that the eyes of her peers bore holes in her back. She didn't mind that she was the only Malfoy not in Slytherin and she didn't mind that her principles opposed her father's because as the group laughed together, Nova Malfoy was a part of something new. Something great. _Friendship._


	5. CHAPTER 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter world, all rights go to J.K Rowling. I do however own my original character Nova Malfoy and her background.**

The wind nipped at her cheeks and whipped her dark curls around as she shivered and pulled her scarf closer around her neck. It was getting late but Nova had promised Draco that she would watch his Quidditch practice, a vow that she was beginning to regret as her teeth chattered in the cold. She had always loved watching her brother play and secretly envied his talent for flying, something that she could never get a grasp of. After what felt like a century, Draco finally emerged from the changing rooms and stalked over to her with a smug look on his face, his silvery blonde hair illuminated on one side by the spotlights on the pitch.

"You should've have seen the Gryffindor practice, Weaslebee was atrocious." Her brother sneered as they made their way back into the castle, "Quite the embarrassment if you ask me!" His grey eyes darted to his sister briefly as he watched for a change of expression. Receiving no response, he added: "You know there are better ways of annoying father…"

A frown etched itself across the younger twin's features as they started up one of the great staircases: "I don't know what you mean." She muttered, waiting for an explanation as she gripped the golden bannister to her right.

"Potter, the Mudblood and Weasel? If father were to find out…"

"He doesn't have to know. And I'll have you know that I happen to like them." Nova interrupted with authority before retorting, "Not everything has to be about father." Draco sighed lightly, glancing at his other half for confirmation. When he realised that she was deadly serious, he elected to drop the conversation. Nova was the most tenacious person he had ever known; she was independent and refused to accept anyone's opinion as the truth until she had decided for herself and the commanding tone that laced her words told him that it was in his best interests to keep her choice of friends between the two of them. "I'll see you tomorrow," she smiled, her tone lighter this time. "I enjoyed watching you practice today; you're playing a lot better!"

The older Malfoy grinned at his twin's approval, watching as she disappeared into the Gryffindor common room, before he locked the smile away behind his signature sneer.

* * *

As she entered the common room, Nova's gaze landed on Hermione who was humming away to herself as she knitted another one of her hats for her S.P.E.W project; she had tried to enlist the Malfoy girl's help but after discovering how truly awful she was at knitting, decided that her help wasn't needed – in truth Nova did in fact know how to knit but she found the task boring and so elected to sabotage herself, essentially manipulating her friend into leaving her alone. The young Malfoy was particularly pleased that she had also managed to successfully fail to charm a pair of knitting needles, much to Harry's amusement. As she greeted the Granger girl, she noticed two figures huddled over a mountain of books and immediately recognised them as a very stressed Harry Potter and a flustered Ron Weasley; she fought back a laugh as Hermione told her that they had been stuck inside all day doing the week's homework.

Nova waltzed over to the pair, continuing her conversation about her day. A small smile graced her lips as she noticed the extra homework that Snape had assigned Harry after he had ruined one of his potions in class. The boys lifted their heads briefly to look at her as she carefully picked up the essay and leant against the table, all the while conversing with Hermione. She immediately picked up on the fact that Harry had only written what his designated potion was used for and after surveying the ever deepening frown on his forehead, decided to put him out of his misery.

"Strengthening potion is brewed in _at least_ two stages," Nova began, catching the Potter boy's attention as his green eyes snapped up to her. "It takes several days to mature properly and the key ingredients are… powdered Griffin claw and salamander blood," she smiled.

Harry returned her smile as he held her gaze before slowly reaching up and retrieving his poor attempt of an essay out of her delicate hands. "Thanks. How do you even remember that?"

"I think Potions is the only class that I am actually good at." The boy watched as she frowned slightly in realisation before a cheerful laugh escaped her lips.

Ron scowled as he watched the pair in front of him smiling at each other like they were the only two in the room. He still held a deep rooted distrust of the girl and despite her likeable characteristics and her wit, his stubborn nature wouldn't allow him to see anything past her last name.

"Oh by the way, I spoke to Cho. Turns out Ron didn't put her off of you." Nova teased, referring to the day that the Weasley boy had essentially shouted at the Ravenclaw for her choice of Quidditch team when she had only wanted to talk to Harry. Ron surprised himself as he snorted at the Malfoy girl's comment and watched his best friend's face falter slightly as he watched the girl break eye contact before a blush crept onto his cheeks. Nova caught Hermione's gaze as the girl smiled slyly at the peculiar interaction between two of her friends, shaking her head as she made her way over to them.

"Hey, are you any good at Astronomy?" Ron asked breaking the tension, "Hermione refused to help."

The dark haired girl was slightly taken aback by his request for help, or rather at the fact that he had spoken to her directly, as she shook her head: "No sorry, Draco had to fix my essay." As Ron scowled at the mention of her brother, Hermione began correcting his essay which angered the boy even more. As the pair in front of them bickered, Harry and Nova's attention was drawn to the large fireplace as the flames began to splutter and the coals crackled. A face soon manifested in the flames, causing the two to jump up and approach it. "Sirius?!"

The man smiled at the pair, informing them that it was the safest way to respond to their letters without the use of a code. They were surprised to find that they had both written letters of striking resemblance to their closest confidant and made mental notes to adhere to his orders and confide in each other as the man highlighted that they were more alike than they would like to believe.

"So what are Umbridge's lessons like? Is she training you to kill half breeds?"

"She won't let us use magic." Harry informed his godfather.

The four students were surprised as the wizard in the flames alerted them that the Minister of Magic did not want them trained in combat in the fear that they were building a secret army under Dumbledore's instruction. Nova shook her head and almost laughed at the ridiculous notion before observing the worried looks that appeared on the trio's faces as Sirius suggested that he used his animagus to visit them in Hogsmeade.

"Something Malfoy said on the train makes us think that they saw you at the station and knew it was you." Harry spoke, eyeing Nova's response as a frown etched itself across her brow, before adding: "And his father was on the platform. You know what Lucius Malfoy is like, Sirius, so don't come up here."

As Harry began to talk about her brother, Nova's jaw tightened slightly as she picked at one of her fingertips and her eyebrows rose briefly. Sirius recognised the look on her face, knowing that she was biting her tongue as the grey eyes that matched his perfectly, hardened in the flicker of the flames; he thought back to her letter, detailing the fact that despite having a group of friends she felt like an outsider, alone because of the trio's feud with her family. Alone because she was a Malfoy.

"I better get going," The man finally spoke, hurt by his godson's response to seeing him and disappointed that he hadn't had the sense to avoid insulting Nova's family in front of her. "I'll write to tell you a time I can make it back into the fire, if the risk isn't too much for you." He muttered petulantly to Harry before turning to Nova with a look in his eye that he hoped she would decipher, "Look out for a letter from me." And with one last look to the girl that he had grown to care for as if she were his, he was gone.

* * *

Harry noticed that Nova had been withdrawn since their conversation with Sirius and had elected to ignore him during breakfast.

"Well you did insult her family right in front of her, mate." Ron sighed as he listened to his best friend's complaints. "I mean she expects it from me but you?"

"Ron's right. You were rather insensitive." Hermione agreed as they entered the Great Hall and made their way over to the topic of their conversation. The Granger girl couldn't help but smile as she watched the girl to whom she had grown very close to, laughing uncontrollably with Fred and George.

As the trio sat down, the conversation turned to the grades that Professor Snape had given them for their moonstone essays. Harry appeared to grow smaller in his seat as the other's revealed their marks; Snape had given him a D for dreadful meaning that he had failed and would not be allowed a second chance at the assignment. Nova smiled smugly when she revealed that she got the highest possible mark, O for outstanding, and her grin only grew as she high-fived Fred when Hermione mumbled that she had only achieved an A for acceptable.

"Stop smiling like that, you look like Draco." Hermione scolded as she fought a smile of her own at her friend's competitive nature.

"Well she is one of them…"

"Oh, I almost forgot that you were still punishing me for that, Ron." Nova jested as she rolled her eyes causing the Weasley boy to smirk slightly.

* * *

MINISTRY SEEKS EDUCATIONAL REFORM

DOLORES UMBRIDGE APPOINTED FIRST EVER HIGH INQUISITOR

Those were the words that had shaped the rest of Nova's day as the troll of woman had interrupted every single one of their classes as she "inspected" the professors teaching styles. The young Malfoy felt as though the shrill tones of the tiny pink woolly woman were going straight through her, to the point that she shuddered at the thought of her. She had decided that if she were to hear " _hem hem_ " again, someone was going to die.

She had prayed that after the woman had received a proper dressing down from Professor McGonagall, she would not see her for the rest of the day but her hopes were inevitably crushed as she joined her brother and Goyle in the Forbidden Forest for their Care of Magical Creatures class and found her standing, clipboard and all, questioning Professor Grubbly-Plank. As the girl edged towards the table with the other students, her nose crinkled at the object of their lesson; a small Bowtruckle. She found its tiny hands slightly creepy as she watched it chase around the lice on the wooden surface.

As the pink pompom asked about Hagrid's extended leave of absence, Nova noticed her twin's sudden interest in the subject and Harry's sudden interest in her twin.

"Don't." Was all she muttered as she nudged her older brother in the ribs with her elbow. Draco simply brushed her arm away in response as he listened intently to the Professors' conversation, watching eagerly, prompting his sister to roll her eyes at him.

She found it difficult to concentrate on Professor Grubbly-Plank's lesson as her grey eyes scanned the class. Naturally, they landed on Harry who stood directly in front of her, the pair hadn't really spoken more than a few words to each other. It wasn't that Nova was particularly annoyed with the boy, she understood his feelings towards her family and she could even go as far as saying that she had experienced some of the hatred that many had towards her father; no, it was more disappointment. She had believed that Harry of all people would understand the difficult position she had put herself in or perhaps that he would have at least tried to be a little more sensitive towards her feelings. However, one thing Nova had inherited from her Malfoy genes was pride and the young witch was a little too proud to admit that she had overreacted slightly. Harry soon moved his gaze from the Bowtruckle to the girl in front of him and a wave of relief washed over him as she held his stare and offered him a smile, which he had gladly returned. The interaction was subtle and had gone unnoticed by many apart from Draco Malfoy.

"Ow." Nova hissed as a sharp pain went through her foot before she glared at her brother who's narrowed stare was trained on the Potter boy. If looks could kill, Harry would have been six foot under.

Hermione and Ron noticed the hardened stare that was passing between the two boys as neither showed any sign of backing down. Their gazes turned to Nova whose grey eyes kept flickering between the Harry, Draco and the floor as she sighed and muttered something inaudible to all but her brother.

"I was slashed by a Hippogriff." Draco spoke, maintaining his staring competition as Professor Umbridge asked about injuries in the class.

"Only because he was too _stupid_ to listen to what Hagrid told him to do." Harry retorted angrily and Ron chuckled almost nervously as the tension in the air grew thicker, earning himself a glare from Hermione.

Nova groaned as she tugged at Draco once more who only turned to look at her with a satisfied smirk, after Harry was handed another night's detention with Umbridge. Although, she was glad that her twin had stopped his antics, she frowned and looked back at Harry who met her gaze (the very thing that had caused their problem). The youngest Malfoy worried for her friend, she had seen the condition that detention had left his hand in and knew that the scars hadn't yet healed from the previous night; she just wished that Harry would learn to bite his tongue around that vile woman.

* * *

"If you don't stop pacing…I swear I'll…"

"You'll what?" The dark haired witch challenged the Weasley boy as she threw herself down on the sofa beside him. "Happy?" She added raising her eyebrows and shaking her head ever so slightly.

Hermione rolled her eyes at her friends who were both tired and extremely irritable. The small group had decided to stay up and wait for Harry to return from his detention but as the hours passed and the common room emptied, the sunlight dimmed and the moonlight conquered, sleep became their worst enemy.

Harry smiled slightly when he entered the common room to find that his friends had waited for him, although a slight frown crossed his face when he noticed that Nova had fallen asleep with her head on Ron's shoulder, who was also snoozing soundly. His emerald eyes then scanned the room and landed on Hermione who was sitting at the table by the window, sleeping face first in one of her numerous study books.

"Hey." He whispered as he gently nudged the Malfoy girl with his blood-free hand until she finally rubbed her eyes and sat up. His stomach leapt slightly as she smiled at him but it slid off of her face, as easily as it appeared, when her eyes landed on the bloodied scarf that he had wrapped around him hand.

Concern etched itself across Nova's features as she woke the other two and pulled Harry over to the bowl of Murtlap tentacle solution that she had helped Hermione make earlier in the evening. As Ron and Hermione urged him to tell Professor McGonagall, Harry watched Nova intently as she unwrapped his hand and placed it in the solution. The blood swirled around the bowl in an eerily beautiful way as the youngest Malfoy and Hermione shared a look that went unnoticed by the Potter boy until he felt the hand that he hadn't realised he had been holding, slowly slide out of his.

"I was thinking today…" Hermione began as Harry eyed the girl suspiciously. Nova and Ron looked up as their friend continued, "We've got to be able to defend ourselves. We need a teacher – a proper one – who can show us how to use the spells, teach us Defence Against the Dark Arts."

Nova listened to the conversation as she grabbed one of the Herbology books that Neville had loaned her to help her with her OWLs. As she flicked through the pages, pretending to be a lot more interested than she actually was, the Granger girl and Ron attempted to convince the boy beside her that he would be the perfect teacher. From the look on Harry's face, she knew that he was growing irritated but the reason remained a mystery; initially the young witch had believed that it was a brilliant idea but something nagged at the back of her mind – it was a foolish notion, one that would most certainly land the quartet in trouble.

"Listen to me!" Harry shouted causing Nova to jump slightly as she nonchalantly flipped the pages of the book on her lap. Hermione and Ron who were carried away by their grand tales of The Boy Who Lived and He Who Must Not Be Named smiled as they turned to look at him. "I didn't plan any of this. I didn't know what I was doing half of time and I nearly always had help." The Malfoy's grey eyes flitted to the bespectacled boy beside her, she could almost feel the anger seeping out of his pores as his face grew redder. She sighed internally as her gaze landed on the pair who stood in front of them, holding smirks that irritated her so she couldn't imagine how much they infuriated Harry. "Stop smiling like you know better than I do. I was there!" The Potter boy spoke lowly, a storm brewing in his green eyes. His friends' grins soon fell as the bowl of Murtlap flew to the floor, shattering as silence fell among the group and instinctively Nova placed a hand on the raging wizard's arm which was gladly accepted as he grazed his fingertips over it, calming slightly. "You don't understand! You've never had to face him. You think that it's just memorising spells, like you can think straight when you are a nanosecond from being tortured or murdered or watching your friends die – no one ever taught us that and you two sit there acting like I am some clever little boy who is sitting here alive, like Diggory was stupid."

"That's not what they are saying, Harry." Nova finally spoke up in defence of Ron and Hermione who looked like they had just been slapped. "You're right, we don't know what it's like but you could help us understand." She continued as Harry looked her directly in the eye, "You don't have to do this alone, you never will but some of us might just need a little help so that when Voldemort comes for you, we'll know how to protect you."

"Just think about it." Hermione spoke but when her two best friends didn't remove their gazes from one another, she muttered: "I'm going to bed." And made her way up the staircase to the girl's dormitories as she said goodnight to Ron who elected to leave also.

Sighing, Nova slid her hand off of Harry's arm before standing and straightening her shirt. She felt the boy's gaze follow her as she pulled out her wand and repaired the bowl, watching as the tiny shards of ceramic slid gracefully back into their place. The flames from the fire danced across her face as she placed the bowl on the table with a gentle thud and picked up the book that she had promised to read.

"I'm going to go to bed." The witch spoke quietly before she met his stare, "You shouldn't be so hard on Ron and Hermione…they are your best friends, they just want to help."

Harry nodded briefly, mulling over her words as he watched her leave the common room. He was inconceivably angry, the emotion possessed him more than any – except for when he was near Nova. It amazed him how easily the girl could reach him through the cloud of turmoil that fenced his every thought; how easily she could calm him. Since the return of Voldemort, Harry had been surrounded by people who had inserted themselves into his life and begged him to let them help but through it all, he often found himself looking for the witch whose priority was not The Boy Who Lived. Wherever he was he found his eyes searching for the girl who was born on the wrong side of the war, the girl who would rather disobey her family and risk everything that she had ever known than fight for the wrong side. Despite everything, he found himself looking for the young Malfoy who he felt connected to, who appeared to understand him regardless of their differences. Harry Potter was surprised to realise that Nova Malfoy inspired him to fight the darkness that was determined to swallow him whole. The determination and strength that shone in the hurricane of Nova Malfoy's eyes reassured Harry Potter for he knew that when he fought Lord Voldemort she would be by his side.


	6. CHAPTER 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter world; all rights go to J.K Rowling. I do however own my original character Nova Malfoy and her background.**

 _Nova,_

 _The view across from the Shrieking Shack is beautiful in the late afternoon. Try 3pm._

 _Snuffles_

Smiling the young witch pulled out her wand and muttered _Incedio,_ watching as the letter burned before her eyes. The flames illuminating her warm grey eyes as the ashes drifted into the wind like the seeds of the dandelions that she used to wish on as a child; ballerinas dancing across the breeze, weaving in and out of each other in perfect synchronisation. A soft smile graced her pink lips, deepening the dimples on her cheeks.

"Do you burn all of you letters?" A voice rung out from behind her causing her to spin round to face the owner. Nova shook her head and her smile grew before Harry spoke again, "You haven't heard from Sirius have you? He's been silent since I told him that I didn't want him to come to Hogsmeade…"

"No, I haven't." The Malfoy girl lied expertly as she frowned slightly, feigning concern. Harry narrowed his eyes suspiciously as his friend maintained eye contact, almost willing him to challenge her.

"Are you coming to this meeting Hermione organised?"

Nova watched as he stepped closer to her, leaning his elbows on the bricked ledge and turning to look at her. She could almost feel his anxiety; it had been almost three weeks since the group had spoken about Harry teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts and Nova didn't envy the pressure Hermione was putting on the boy.

"Do you want me to?" She finally answered, softly returning his gaze. She watched as he thought for a moment, looking away from her and towards the snowy horizon before nodding slightly. "Then of course I will be there."

The pair smiled fondly at each other as they descended into silence, their eyes scanning the peaceful surroundings as they leant against the opening on the brickwork wall. They appreciated each other beyond explanation, they understood each other much deeper than anyone else and they relied on each other much more than either of them knew.

* * *

The snow crunched beneath their boots as the quartet trudged their way into Hogsmeade. Hermione and Nova waltzed slightly ahead of the boys, talking and laughing about one of their numerous secrets. Ron watched his best friend smile as the girl with the long dark curls threw her head back laughing, it was a smile that the Weasley boy had learned was reserved only for her and as much as it pained him to admit, he was beginning to warm to the girl despite her relation to his family's enemies.

"Did you hear that there was a break in at the Ministry?" Hermione spoke having just remembered something important, "It was in the Daily Prophet."

"I thought you stopped reading that rubbish?" Ron scoffed in response, knowing full well that the newspaper had notoriously slandered Harry, labelling him a liar. "But yeah, Dad was saying it was the Department of Mysteries. Second attempt but they never took anything."

The news brought Harry back to his nightmares, he knew that this was Voldemort and as it happened, so did Nova. The look they shared went unnoticed by their friends who had entered a heated discussion as they took the lead. The young Malfoy had a dozen questions on her lips as the cogs in her mind spun at one hundred miles per hour.

"Do you think…" the witch began as she fell in step with Harry who had slowed down to put a considerable distance between Ron and Hermione and himself and Nova.

"Yes." Harry interrupted. He had confided in the girl completely with regards to his nightmares, in the hope that she would help him decipher them. "What have Voldemort's plans got to do with you though? I mean…in my dreams, it's always you that pulls me away from it all."

A frown crossed her features but she left Harry's question very much unanswered. In truth, she had no idea how she was connected to any of this and it was beginning to torment her, beginning to conquer her every thought and fester like an infection in her brain.

They continued to walk in a thought filled silence until they reached the Hogs Head. Nova's nose wrinkled in disgust as they entered the dark and dingy pub and the overpowering aroma of stale butterbeer mixed with farm animals filled the singular room. A man sat at the bar, his head covered in grimy bandages with only a slit for his mouth and one bulging eye uncovered; as the quartet passed him, he turned quickly in his seat until he was almost nose to nose with Nova who jumped backwards and grabbed Harry's hand in fright. Her cheeks reddened as he stroked her hand before she pulled it away and muttered an apology to the floor as the door creaked open and a mass of students entered.

As Fred and George organised butterbeers for everyone, the group mingled and herded towards the quartet at the back of the room. Harry stared at the expectant students with apprehension as he sat in front of the empty fireplace and as his gaze wondered from Ginny to Cho to Dean and Neville he grew more anxious, prompting him to look for the comforting grey eyes that were already on him.

"It'll be okay." Nova whispered as she moved to sit between the twins.

"Aren't you staying here beside us?" Harry rushed almost pulling her back towards him.

"Yeah…no." The girl chuckled nervously, "I'll just be over there, relishing in the fact that everyone is staring at you instead of me!" She grinned, leaving the terrified boy as Hermione began their meeting.

"That wasn't so bad now was it?" The Granger girl asked rhetorically as the four were leaving the dirty old pub. Ron kicked the snow at his feet as he read the enchanted parchment that contained the names of the students who wished to be taught by Harry. The group was fairly large and coined as 'Dumbledore's Army' by his younger sister, Ginny. Nova stood catching snowflakes on her gloves, lost in her own world as she contemplated her exit strategy as her meeting with Sirius drew closer; she had been relatively quiet since Hermione had announced to the group that she could cast a corporeal Patronus effectively pulling her into the centre of the discussion. "Well, one good thing came out of that anyway."

"What?" Harry, Ron and Nova asked in unison.

"Cho couldn't keep her eyes off of you." The girl smirked at Harry who flushed red causing Nova to roll her eyes as a hint of a scowl broke through her defences.

"I have to go and meet Draco." She interrupted as she realised the time, turning on her heel and walking away after a ghost of a goodbye. She felt Harry's stare on her back but continued none the less, the bad timing of her departure hadn't even crossed her oblivious mind until she stole a glance at the boy and met the smirk that inhabited Hermione's face. _She was most definitely going to regret her poor timing later._

* * *

The cold embraced her like an old friend as the snow crunched under her feet and she made her way to the Shrieking Shack to meet Sirius. She hated lying to her friends, she had a terrible feeling that they could see right through her but family came first; it always would. The wind whipped her dark curls across her face causing them to dance with static electricity whenever one of her gloved hands swept them back into their place. A chill ran up her spine as her ears caught some whispers that swam through the breeze, causing her to scan her surroundings with narrowed eyes. Instinctively, she gripped her wand tighter. Her heart beat rose, thudding against its bony cage with every footstep and every taunting murmur. Nova knew that she was not alone – someone was following her. The puffs of steam that ejected from her mouth with every rapid breath seemed seize and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as she heard an all too familiar cackle.

Two streaks of black, spun around her as she raised her wand and turned, trying to find a face. The shrill cackle haunted her eardrums, unnerving her very core as they mixed with a lowly growl until the figures finally stood in front of her. Despite her dizziness, Nova knew the Deatheaters that stood before her: Fenrir Greyback and her aunt Bellatrix Lestrange.

"Just as beautiful as the last time I saw you…" Bellatrix sang, tilting her head from side to side as she twirled her wand between her bony white fingers, "Today's your lucky day! The Dark Lord requests your presence."

The young Malfoy could barely comprehend as her heartbeat pummelled her ears, taking over every decibel in existence: "I do not wish to speak with him." She spoke with authority, fooling herself into thinking that her defiance would save her.

"Nobody cares what you want!" Her aunt screeched breaking through the perceived serenity, the madness projected itself through her dark eyes causing the girl's shaking hands to grip her wand tighter. Nova's mind was racing with thoughts of escape but as she raised her wand in defiance she was disarmed before she could utter a syllable, leaving her helpless. "Take her." Bellatrix ordered Greyback, who obeyed immediately, smacking the struggling girl with as much force as he could muster – rendering her unconscious as he swung her over his shoulder like a ragdoll before apparating out.

Bellatrix's eyes narrowed and a psychotic grin appeared on her face as she saw her cousin approaching. A cackle bubbled between her vocal chords, spilling out of her mouth, as she raised her wand and set fire to the forest that he had emerged from before placing her niece's wand on the boulder as a message and apparating.

* * *

A tickly sensation on the bridge of her nose woke her from her slumber as she groggily tried to scratch it; her wrists neglected the order causing her to snap her eyes open. The ropes that bound her to the chair burned with every movement, the only relief being the cool wooden arm rests that suspended her arms. The room was dimly lit but as fear became her only emotion, it descended into darkness. She watched as a drop of blood fell from the tip of her nose onto her pale blue sweater as she blinked moisture into her dry eyes.

"Cissy, would be so disappointed to learn that her precious little Nova was friends with that Potter boy." Bellatrix taunted in a dreamlike tone as she wandered around the room. Nova's hardened grey eyes followed her every movement as she struggled against her restraints, trying to break free. Suddenly, her aunt was right in her face, her breath tickling her cheek. "You see; we have these to show our loyalty." The psychotic woman trawled, licking the mark on her arm as her niece cringed before placing her lips near the girl's left ear. "Wouldn't it be nice if you had a scar too? Hmmm? Just like your boyfriend…"

Nova's knuckles whitened as her grip on the chair tightened. Bellatrix's wand glowed bright, illuminating the girl's collarbone as she went to work. The bloodcurdling screams that battered the woman's eardrums only spurred her on as she began to carve. **_T_**.

Bravery was something that the youngest Malfoy liked to believe that she had in abundance but in that moment, she was terrified. **_R_**.

Her skin burned hotter than the centre of the sun as the pain burrowed through the bones in her body at an excruciatingly slow pace. **_A_**.

Another scream echoed through the presumably empty house, her nails began to tear themselves from their beds as they lodged themselves into the wooden arm rests. **_I_**.

Droplets of blood raced one another to the pit of her stomach; some falling captive to the woollen sweater that failed to protect her. **_T_**.

She cried her heart out and for once begged herself to lose control of her powers yet her prayers were left unanswered. **_O_**.

Every nerve in her body screamed with agony. Her throat burned with the pain of her own cries for help. She wanted to die – for it to all end in that moment, to forget what it was like to suffer. **_R_**.

She braced herself for another bout of carving and almost laughed in relief as her aunt stepped back to admire her work. Once satisfied that her markings had reached the bone, she raised her wand and cursed it. **_T. R. A. I. T. O. R_**.

"There! You can wear it with pride." The woman laughed as she began to spin in circles, dancing around the room as she cackled and sang to herself. Nova stared into space with a tensed jaw and eyes that held an ocean of tears that spilled with every blink. The pain was unbearable but she refused to succumb to her innate craving for unconsciousness, as the blood continued to flow, Bellatrix's curse suddenly sunk in – the scars would never heal, they would serve as a constant silvery white reminder that her childish insubordination had consequences. Nova Malfoy would forever be branded as a traitor, like cattle on their way to a slaughterhouse. The scars would remain both as a fragment of her memory and as a pound of her flesh, warning her that the fire inside of her heart would attract all who feared it.

"I WILL KILL YOU!" A manic voice screamed down the hallway after the crazed woman. She barely recognised it as her own as she concentrated on the searing hot pain that soared through her bones and the blood that soaked through her sweater but when it continued she realised that, despite the pure perception she had of herself, perhaps she had inherited the madness. "You can run and you can hide behind him but I will find you Bellatrix Lestrange and my face is going to be the last thing that you will ever see!"

Hot tears stung her face as she furiously blinked them back. All energy appeared to leave her as she pulled at her restraints, begging for her magic to save her. A sob escaped her lips and the blood from her head ran down her neck to mingle with the pool that collected around her collarbone. A smug laugh broke the silence as a snake like face appeared inches from hers.

His face was a lot paler than she had imagined, his eyes a lot darker. Adrenaline kicked in as she ignored her pain and her whole body trembled – Nova was terrified as The Dark Lord stood before her, studying her silently.

"So much strength for such a little witch." Voldemort hissed tauntingly as he ran an ice cold finger along her jawline causing her to tense.

"What do you want from me?"

"Information." He began as Nova found the courage to look him in the eye. "You are going to give me everything you know about Harry Potter and if you won't give it to me willingly…" Voldemort trailed as he twirled one of the girl's dark curls around his skeletal fingers. "I will take it." He threatened as his grip on her hair tightened, burning her scalp. His words slithered off of his tongue like a sickness that poisoned her with every syllable. Her skin paled as the venom sunk deeper and the young witch's heart pounded in her chest, turning her veins black as the toxin paralysed her and she maintained a stony silence. She would never betray him. Her jaw tensed and relaxed in a constant cycle as she attempted to control her tremors. Her usual warm grey eyes were as cold as ice and they pierced the dark wizard in front of her. Anger flashed over his features as the girl silently refused to cooperate and impatience took over.

Nova clenched her teeth as a coldblooded hand glided around her neck, constricting her breaths as it squeezed the life out of her and her mind was invaded. Her memories flushed to the surface as her head pounded to the point that she thought it would explode. Beads of sweat collected on her brow and upper lip as she concentrated on performing Occlumency and her mind flooded with pictures of her childhood; running around Malfoy Manor with Draco, terrorising the staff as their mother shouted after them to the day she sat by the lake with the Fred and George, laughing about nothing in particular – happy. Voldemort's face distorted into one of pain as he used every ounce of his power to break into her brain but as the young witch felt her memories of Sirius floating to the surface, she did something that surprised him.

"No. Get. Out." She demanded through her teeth as her face darkened. She closed her eyes briefly as a calm washed over her, much to the shock of the wizard before her who felt her relax in his grasp. Her eyes soon snapped open as she pushed him out of her mind.

"H-how?" Was all the snakelike man could stutter as he stared at her in shock before the tables were turned.

His mind was a lot clearer than Nova had envisioned. Power rushed through her veins and she loved it as she controlled his thoughts. The adrenaline gave her a high as she sifted through his memories, viewing his life as if it were a movie. One particular image – from a memory that he had stolen - drew her attention; a white globe in a darkened room and a plaque with "Harry Potter and Nova Malfoy" etched on it. She watched as Voldemort remembered shouting at her father and a two other men for "failing to retrieve it".

"You're terrified, Tom." Nova spoke in a low tone laced with intrigue and menace as she exited his mind. A sickening grin slithered onto her bloodied face as the look in her eyes mirrored his just moments ago.

The Dark Lord's nostrils flared as she taunted him and he remained in a state of shock as he comprehended the girl who was powerful beyond her imagination. The girl who had managed to block his Legilimency and break through his Occlumency. Nova watched with a smirk as fear manifested behind the wizard's eyes as his hand slid off of her.

The atmosphere was sliced wide open as Wormtail entered the room, flustered and stuttering beyond comprehension. A portrait had alerted someone of their whereabouts and they would have company soon. Lord Voldemort almost screamed in frustration as his fists clenched and his temperature rose, before hissing an order to his loyal servant.

"Kill her."


	7. CHAPTER 6

A/N:

Thank you **Olivia0707** , **lunarmidnightwolf** and **staystongharleyquinn** for your reviews! I am really glad that you like the story so far :)

Please let me know what you all think about this next chapter xx

* * *

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter world; all rights go to J.K Rowling. I do however own my original character Nova Malfoy and her background.**

Fear had long abandoned her as she looked into the ratty face of Peter Pettigrew. It abandoned her like everything else; her magic refused to defend her and her father was nowhere to be seen as she was tortured and his master attempted to control her. Even the great Albus Dumbledore was absent. Nova Malfoy had been thrown into reality and she was learning a harsh lesson: she was alone and if she couldn't protect herself, she was going to die.

"You don't have to do this." She tried to reason as she trembled in anticipation. She watched as the reddened rope burns sunk deeper into her wrists with every pull of her restraints; she couldn't give up. Slowly, she lifted her head only to gulp as her nose grazed the wand that was mere centimetres from her face. "You can let me go." Her grey eyes caught Wormtail's, whose face faltered slightly causing his clawed hands to loosen around his wand. "I lost control of my magic again…I overpowered you." She prompted, nodding slighting with a charmed smile.

"He'll…he'll know. He'll kill me, I have to!" The small man spluttered, thrown by the girl's charm. She reminded him ever so slightly of his master and it unsettled him causing him to tighten his grip once more. Nova watched the tormented look on the man's face as he fought with his decision; his hands shook incredibly and his wand flew erratically, worsening her dizziness.

"I'll alter your memories, he'll never know. _I promise_." A slight smirk tried to force its way through the pleading look on her face but it was easily forced away; if there was one thing that she had learned from her brother it was the art of hiding emotion, the art of deception and so she pushed the cunningness and the calculations back behind the walls that hid her fear and the excruciating pain. "You know what murdering a defenceless girl would do to your soul…is it worth it when I can make it all go away?"

Wormtail shifted on his feet as the witch's eyes bored into him until the pressure was too much. His wand dropped as he ran to her and untied her restraints, muttering incoherently to himself. As Nova rose to her full height, slightly dizzy from the blood loss and fatigue, the man almost bowed as he held out his wand to her. She gladly took it as she felt the power that she had over him before turning to head out the door. Wormtail whimpered behind her as she reached the threshold of the door causing her to close her eyes and exhale before turning to face him, concentrating as hard as she possibly could, she performed a memory altering charm - that she had read about in a book that she had stolen from Professor Flitwick – sealing their secret to her mind alone.

The corridor was pitch black as she whispered _Lumos_. Her hands trembled as she forced her feet forward, grasping the wall to steady herself and blinking furiously in an attempt to banish her blurred vision. She froze as she heard footsteps approaching and the murmur of whispered plans, her mind raced as her feet remained planted with her lack of energy and her heart hammered her chest cavity with every approaching footfall. As her knees buckled under the weight of her body, two arms wrapped themselves around her.

"Nova!" A familiar female voice rung out as they held her steady. "It's okay, I'm here." The voice that she now recognised as Tonks, cooed softly. "Remus! Sirius! I have her!"

The youngest Malfoy was tearing at the seams as she broke down in her cousin's arms. She cried her heart out as the adrenaline washed away and the pain flooded in – drowning her. Nova had never known fear until she was bound to that chair, never known panic until she was face to face with the darkest wizard of all time. She felt weak as she allowed herself to cry, felt frustrated as her words failed her. Her tears signified her experience, her fear but mostly the simple knowledge that she truly wasn't alone. Her friends and family had been looking for her and they had eventually found her.

* * *

Nova would never forget the look on Sirius' face as he examined the scars, it cut her like a knife and tugged on her heartstrings. It was no secret that he blamed himself for her suffering, if he hadn't been so adamant about seeing her then she would have remained with Harry and this would have never happened. Nova was sure that she had seen a tear glide gracefully down his cheek from the eyes that mirrored her own but no amount of reassurance would heal him.

The young witch felt numb as Tonks cleaned the blood off of her and handed her a change of clothes. She felt nauseous as Remus fed her chocolate and soup. She felt exhausted as Sirius hugged her and she retold her story.

"Nova, your aunt is in Azkaban." Lupin spoke softly. "It couldn't have been her, there have been no reports of a break out…"

"Are you calling me a liar?"

"No, no, not at all. We just…" The man stuttered under her hardened stare, "We just need to know that you are sure of what you saw. That you are sure that the Bellatrix you saw was the real one."

"Are you sure the Bellatrix in Azkaban is the real one?" The girl retorted. She was growing angrier with every question – she knew what she had seen, what she had endured at the hands of her mother's sister regardless of what the Ministry of Magic told them.

"The Ministry…"

"I DON'T CARE." The witch snapped. The walls of 12 Grimmauld Place rattled with her fury, forcing the portraits off of their hooks causing them to slip to the floor with a shatter of glass as her magic teetered on the edge of destruction. Tonks and Lupin jumped, their eyes widening in fear as they caught a glimpse of the Malfoy family secret; the look on their faces hadn't gone unnoticed by the traumatised girl who faltered slightly as she forced her heartrate to slow. "I know what I saw. I know what happened." She whispered almost inaudibly, pulling down the collar of her shirt in emphasis. "Take me back to Hogwarts."

* * *

The flames of the common room fire flickered in her now ice cold eyes; never before had she looked so much like her brother, so much like her father. Her jaw sat tightly tensed as her collarbone throbbed with a pain that would forever remind her of her treachery. As the warmth of the fire failed to melt her hardened, unblinking stare, Nova tormented herself with darkening thoughts.

Nova had always been kind-hearted and compassionate, much to her parents' dismay. They could never understand how such a young girl could grow up with their pureblood views yet still defend the house elves or the squibs that worked on their land. That girl seemed like a fairy tale, a myth long buried in the pages of history. Darkness grew inside of her, suffocating the light and the more she thought about it, the darker her world seemed to be.

A footstep on the stairs caught her attention but stubbornly, she continued to hold the flames within her gaze and as the person shifted their weight between their feet before awkwardly sitting down beside her, she knew it was Harry. Silence covered them like a blanket as the fire began to fade and the first sliver of orange on the horizon told them that it was nearing sunrise until Nova finally sighed.

"No one believes me." She whispered, bringing her knees up to her chest in a desperate attempt to protect herself from vulnerability.

Harry studied her carefully before smiling softly, "You get used to it..."

"I don't know how, Harry but it was Bellatrix…I know it was." Nova finally spoke once more.

"I believe you."

As he uttered those words, a flicker of the light that normally cradled her grey eyes shone through the walls she had built before it was tackled back into its prison. He watched as she fought an internal battle, as her lip quivered and the grip on her knees tightened, trying to hold herself together. Silence engulfed the pair once more as the cooling coals on the fire spat out flecks of orange.

"How do you feel when you are in Voldemort's head?"

A frown creased the Potter boy's brow as he comprehended her question. No one had ever asked him that before: "Angry…unbelievably angry. Why?" Tears collected at the seams of her eyes as her body trembled. It was only then that Harry realised how broken she was; the bruises and grazes that littered her usually perfect complexion and the dark circles from the lack of sleep – she looked exhausted. Out of pride, she refused to look at him.

"I saw his life, his memories and I didn't hate him." Nova bit her lip as she stared down at her hands, prompting the wizard to move from the comfort of the sofa and kneel in front of her. The seemingly fearless girl that he had grown fond of, jumped as his hand grazed hers.

"That doesn't make you a bad person, Nova." He spoke gently as her tormented, tear stained eyes finally reached his. "Whatever happened, you can talk to me." The girl's mask continued to slip with every word that the boy uttered. "You are not alone. I know you think you are but you're not, you have me."

Nova flinched as Harry ran a cool finger over the bandages that donned her wrists. Her gaze followed him and his brow twisted beneath his unkempt hair and circular glasses as his eyes caught a glimpse of the silvery white letters through her dark curled hair.

"Don't." Nova whispered, panicked as he slowly reached a hand forward and gingerly swept away the curls. His heart leapt into his throat as she snatched his hand away and his eyes lingered on the word carved across her collarbone. Her grip on his hand tightened as he processed the scar and the young witch closed her eyes tightly, terrified of looking at the markings again.

As a tear glided down her cheek Harry softly swept it away with the pad of his thumb, lingering there for a moment before sliding his hand to the back of her neck and guiding her forehead to rest upon his shoulder. As if it were what she was waiting for, Nova threw her arms around him as she finally allowed herself to cry. Anger washed over him as he imagined what they had done to her; they were going to pay for it. Sorrow flushed through him as she pulled him closer to her, holding on to him as if he were her lifeline. Disappointment waded through him as he thought of the others' disbelief but the butterflies swept it all away as he felt her warm breath on his neck.

"I'm here. I'll _always_ be here." He whispered as he cradled her.

The sun was shining through the window when Nova pulled back ever so slightly to look at him. Her grey eyes met his green ones and their noses nearly met as they remained merely inches apart and her peppermint breath tickled his lips as she finally whispered. "I'm going to kill her, Harry."

* * *

Dumbledore's office no longer appeared to possess the initial charm that had left the young Malfoy awestricken on her first day. Everything seemed darker, from the golden candelabras to the red tint of Fawkes' feathers. Everything was dark.

As Nova sat in the burgundy chair with the golden trim, her gaze was visibly vacant. Entering the Dark Lord's mind had left a mark – a scar not unlike the one that would forever grace her collar. The young witch could feel the darkness dancing in the corners of her mind, taunting her with its alluring song, like a siren to a sailor, yet she wasn't afraid.

Dumbledore studied the girl over the rims of his half-moon glasses, he knew that her mind had wandered the plains of another world and yet he made no attempt to bring her home.

"I pity him." Nova finally spoke as she removed her dreamy gaze from the window. The headmaster watched as she gulped and tensed her jaw briefly before continuing. "I saw his life flash before my eyes and I pitied him…He isn't all that different from me – we're similar...too similar – I know how he feels…how he thinks. I can do what he can; invade peoples' minds." The dream-like mask suddenly fell as the young witch snapped back to reality and turned her head to look at the aged wizard in front of her.

"Nova, how did you escape? Remus said that you were already on your way out when they reached you."

"Peter Pettigrew." She almost smiled before a frown crossed her features. "He bowed down to me…I'm going to turn into _Him_ , aren't I?"

The headmaster couldn't quite decipher her tormented expression as he reassured her that the darkness she felt was a mere side effect of deep legilimency. Nova didn't believe him. She felt like a completely different person, a person that she feared.

"I believe you'll need this." Dumbledore smiled as he handed Nova her wand. Her hesitance to touch it hadn't gone unnoticed by the old man. "Sometimes in our lives we are faced with scenarios that require us to see ourselves in a whole new light. It is true that you possess much of the same power as Voldemort and it is also true that somehow you managed to overpower him but Nova, you are wrong to think that you and Tom Riddle are one in the same." He spoke as the girl continually gazed at her wand, internally arguing against the force that drew her towards it. "Take it."

After another moment of hesitance, she clasped her wand gently, "Promise me something?" She asked, waiting for the man to send her a brief nod before continuing, "If I…if I go dark, if I end up like him…promise me that you will find a way to bring me back."

The headmaster's resolve faltered at the words that tumbled out of the young witch's mouth. She was much too mature for her age and possessed worries that shouldn't even exist in her wildest of nightmares but the look on her face worried him. Dumbledore knew that whatever was spinning around her head in that moment terrified her but he also saw the undeniable similarities; the perceived loneliness, the irresistible charm, the power of her magic. Albus Dumbledore decided that perhaps Nova would be his redemption, a chance to do what he should have done for Tom.

And so he promised.


	8. CHAPTER 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter world; all rights go to J.K Rowling. I do however own my original character Nova Malfoy and her background.**

As her mind flooded with images of his face, she replayed the memories that she had taken from him. Every time she closed her eyes, she dreamt of the cool wind that rattled through the old house, the way the ropes burned her wrists with every movement and the way it felt when the blood trickled down her chest. There was a time when Nova would have wished that anything would replace the nightmares of her accident but in the last week, if they so much as touched her sleeping mind, she considered it a relief. Reliving the way that the water flooded into her lungs as she thrashed against the waves, no longer sent her magic spiralling out of control and for that she was thankful but the new torments of her mind were much worse.

Legilimency was a gift that she had seldom used and as Voldemort's life danced around her thoughts, poisoning them like a venomous snake, she remembered why. The sheer power that she had used against him was of course an accident, self-defence. That fact wouldn't ease her apprehension. The youngest Malfoy may have stopped him momentarily but she had planted herself firmly on his radar, potentially with devastating consequences.

Closing her eyes, she watched him murder the Potters as she rubbed her forehead. Her hands shook as she fought the memories back, opened her eyes and scanned the letter from her parents once more. It seemed as though Lily's scream echoed through the empty common room as it battered at the walls that Nova had hidden it behind; she was going to lose her mind.

The subtle sounds of tiny footsteps caused the witch to snap her head towards the door. Her eyes scanned the common room, finding nothing. She really was going insane. The footsteps seemed to shuffle as she frowned and turned back around, only to come face to face with someone that she hadn't seen in a long time.

"Dobby, you scared the life out of me!"

"Dobby is sorry, Miss. Dobby only wished to check on his friend Nova Malfoy." The house-elf smiled fondly as his saucer-like eyes gazed at her from his perch on the table. The girl shook her head with a slight chuckle of disbelief as she looked at the elf. She had always been fond of Dobby and had taken many a scolding from her mother for trying to set him free. "Dobby is worried; he sees that Miss does not sleep. Does Nova Malfoy have bad dreams like Harry Potter?"

A frown crowded her features once more as she threw the letter from her parents into the Gryffindor fireplace. Greyback had told her father about the 'incident' and to say he was furious was an understatement but still, Nova couldn't help but blame him. The words of the letter had been read until she had them imprinted on her mind but she couldn't bring herself to respond, she didn't want her mother's sympathy or her father's apologies, she wanted revenge. Her glare hardened as the parchment turned to ash.

"It's nothing to worry about, Dobby. I'll be fine."

* * *

Nova rubbed her eyes every few minutes in an attempt to stay awake. Sleep was an unrelenting enemy but she refused to give in. Harry watched her as he sighed in concern. He couldn't help but notice the dark circles that cradled her eyes or her incessant need to run a hand over her forehead to ease the headaches; he also noticed how she subconsciously, scratched at the scars on her collar as if she could peel them off. She had made him promise to keep the incident a secret and he had to admit that it was hard lying to Ron and Hermione but he couldn't bring himself to betray her trust and so he carried on silently acknowledging her high necked jumpers as she avoided being alone with him. His gaze remained firmly on her as she spoke to Ginny, before the Weasley twins nudged him and began teasing him about the woes of young love causing him to blush furiously.

* * *

"You'll be cold if you go outside in that…" Hermione scolded as she looked at Nova who appeared to have been swallowed by the armchair in which she sat.

"You know, Ron, your constant taunts are the highlight of my day…" She smirked, shaking her head and laughing sarcastically as the redhead made a joke about Malfoys being coldblooded although she couldn't fight the grin when he started hissing like a snake. It was the first genuine chuckle that had left her lips since the encounter and it appeared to brush away the cobwebs that shrouded her. "Actually, I hadn't planned on coming with you."

"What? Why?" Harry asked as he unfolded his invisibility cloak and looked at her with a prominent frown. The youngest Malfoy had become rather reclusive and uncharacteristically quiet in the last week and it hadn't gone unnoticed by the trio. Despite understanding the situation, Harry was sick to the stomach with worry. His nightmares had become more prominent and many of them seemed to centre around the girl.

"Harry, my father has caused an unholy amount of problems for the man…or giant…" The witch trailed off. "And I don't even want to think about the damage that Draco has done. The last person he's going to want to see - when he's just returned from god knows where - is a Malfoy."

The trio appeared to consider the thought for a moment and Nova had been worried that Harry would see through her. It was true that she was anxious about meeting the famed Rubeus Hagrid but it was also true that she didn't feel like doing anything. In all honesty, Nova was ashamed.

As Harry's gaze bore into her, trying to break her resolve, Ron spoke up, "Rubbish, you aren't half as bad as _Malfoy_ , and if I can accept you then he will."

"Acceptance…is that what we're calling it?" Nova retorted with a raised eyebrow before the pair grinned at each other. Subconsciously, she pulled the sleeves of her shirt down further over the healing rope burns, feeling uneasy as the trio awaited her answer. "Okay, fine but I'll meet you there, I'm not squeezing under that." She sighed, giving in.

"Don't get caught." Hermione pointed as she pulled on her gloves and waited for the boys. "Do you want the map?"

"No, I'll be fine. Worst case scenario, I get caught and have to pull a Draco and call my father." She grinned trying to hide her emotions as Harry squeezed her shoulder on the way past, alerting her to the fact that he saw right through her mask.

* * *

As Nova slipped past Filch and Mrs Norris, she approached her brother who was terrorising a first year. Hoping that he hadn't seen her, she edged past quietly until his voice echoed through her corridor.

"Ah! Just the person I wanted to see."

Silently cursing, Nova turned around to face her twin and a teary eyed Hufflepuff, "Father must have forgotten to mention to you, being a bully isn't on the list of requirements for a ' _superior_ ' pureblood."

Draco's face turned thunderous as he hissed at the boy who scurried away. "How dare you embarrass me in front of that mudblood! What has gotten into you?" The older twin reprimanded as he grabbed his sister's arm and pulled her out of earshot of his goons. "I don't care about your charity work but undermine me in public again and I'll tell father all about your new boyfriend and his _filthy_ little friends." He sneered.

Nova's face darkened as she stared at her twin. "I suggest you let go of me." She hissed at him, "Threaten me again and telling father will be the last of your concerns."

Fear festered in the blonde boy's cold grey eyes as he hastily let go of her arm; his lips began to quiver as he shrunk to below his sister, muttering an apology as she turned to walk away from him. Recovering quickly and straightening his shirt, he spoke once more: "Write back to mother and father."

"What?" Nova almost snapped as she spun back around, her brunette curls bouncing across her shoulder.

"Mother and father are worried…write to them, please."

The pleading looks on her brother's face caused her to nod. "I will." She answered as she started to walk away again. A few steps later, she sighed and turned back around. "I'm sorry."

"Get some sleep, you look horrendous."

* * *

The cold winter breeze teased her dark hair and she pulled her scarf closer to her; she suspected that it would snow again. A soft sigh escaped her and her boots crunched in the snow as she made her way down to Hagrid's hut where she saw Harry, Ron and Hermione waiting for her. A familiar anxiety settled in the pit of her stomach as the half-giant gamekeeper opened the wooden door to his circular hut.

Hagrid's face was covered in cuts and his hair was tangled around flecks of dried blood; there was so much of it that Nova was unsure if it all belonged to him. The group sat at the round table in the tiny kitchen as the man placed mugs of tea in front of them before lowering himself gingerly onto a stool, his face contorted by the pain.

"And yeh must be Nova!" The gentle giant beamed, easing the girl's nerves immediately. In flesh, he was nothing like her brother had described. "Bin hearin' a lot 'bout yeh from Dumbledore. First Malfoy ter be housed out o' Slytherin – tha's some feat!"

"I wouldn't call it an achievement…" Nova muttered as she looked down at the cup of tea in front of her, prompting Harry to squeeze her hand under the table.

"S'pose not." Hagrid agreed as he picked up a large steak and held it against his swollen eye, surveying the raven haired pair as Hermione asked him where he's been and what happened.

The four students listened as the gamekeeper told a tale of giants in the mountains and how they had attacked him as he arrived. Dumbledore had sent him to recruit the giants for their fight against Voldemort however they had already received a visit from some Deatheaters. Nova's heart pounded as she listened for news of her father, silently praying that he hadn't been one of the wizards who had gone to the mountains or that he hadn't been hurt; after receiving none she sighed slightly, relaxing in her seat between Hermione and Harry. She felt truly sorry for the half-giant when he alerted them to the fact that after weeks of negotiating, the giants wanted nothing to do with them.

Hagrid's tale was cut short by a knocking at the door which caused the gamekeeper to usher the students into the corner under the cover of the Invisibility Cloak. As he answered the door, the quartet stood a close as humanly possible to one another to ensure that they were hidden.

The small hut was soon filled with the sickly sweet scent of an all too familiar perfume – Nova wasn't the only person who had come to meet Rubeus Hagrid that evening. Claustrophobia began to set in as the four stepped backwards, Nova and Hermione forcing the boys backs against the wall. Nova held her breath as Professor Umbridge introduced herself, her pink suit and fluffy handbag sticking out like a sore thumb against the dark surroundings.

"I heard voices and there are four sets of footprints in the snow leading to your cabin." The plump little woman spoke slyly as she looked around in suspicion. Hermione let out a sharp gasp which was soon muffled by Harry's hand as he clamped it over her mouth. "There are none leading away from your cabin." The High Inquisitor continued as she searched in the cupboards and under the pieces of furniture. Hermione clutched Nova's hand as Umbridge stopped directly in front of them, pausing for a moment as if considering them before spinning around to face Hagrid again. "Where have you been?"

After what felt like a century, the pink woman had plodded back through the snow and into the castle, freeing the group from their cloaked existence. As they stretched with their new found space, Hermione asked the Professor what he had planned for their Care of Magical Creatures class but as the friends left, Hagrid's answer had left the Granger girl less than impressed.

* * *

Tuesday's lesson was accompanied by apprehension for Harry, Ron and particularly Hermione. Nova had never witnessed one of Hagrid's lessons and she had learned that Draco's descriptions were less than reliable.

The cold bit at her ears as she stood with Draco and his cronies at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Looking around her classmates, she smiled at Hermione who looked sick with worry but returned her smile nonetheless. Nova rubbed her hands together in an attempt to gain heat before her brother nudged her and motioned to her pocket, a smile crept onto her face as she realised that he had given her his gloves (albeit slyly so not to ruin his reputation).

Hagrid led the class deeper into the forest: "Bit more sheltered! They prefer the dark."

"What prefers the dark?" Draco spoke up before repeating the question to his friends. "And you're sure they're trained? Only it wouldn't be the first time you'd brought wild stuff to class…" He continued as Hagrid proudly announced that he was the only person in Britain to have trained the creatures.

Nova glanced around as the Slytherins agreed with her twin and a few students from the other houses muttered in agreement. Hagrid, however, simply scowled – not that the girl could blame him.

"Course they're trained!"

"What's happened to your face then?"

Nova nudged Draco hard in the ribs before muttering, "Stop being so rude."

As Hagrid sent the girl a thankful nod, he ushered the group further into the forest. Apprehensively, the class gathered around him, watching as the half-giant let out a monstrous shriek. Fear seemed to be the most common facial expression as Hagrid cried out again. Most of the class stared expectantly as nothing appeared to be happening. A frown had etched itself across the youngest Malfoy's brow as Hagrid announced that another one had arrived.

"Now, put yer hands up, who can see 'em?" The bearded gamekeeper beamed as he looked around, "I knew you'd be able ter, Harry. An' you too, Neville."

"What exactly are we supposed to be seeing?" The Malfoy twins spoke in unison before turning to each other in disgust, "Stop it."

Nova's eyes widened as she watched the carcass that Hagrid had brought into the forest. Pieces of meat appeared to be pulling themselves off of the creature and then disappearing. Something was eating it. _Thestrals_. Horse-like creatures that can only be seen by people who have witnessed death.

The lesson was soon cut short by Professor Umbridge, however, as she tried her hardest to force some of the students (particularly Neville) into saying they were scared during their lessons with Hagrid. And of course, Pansy Parkinson and the rest of Draco's group were more than happy to lodge their complaints too, much to the disgust of Hermione who was red with rage as Draco was grinning like a child at Christmas.

Nova had a horrible feeling that Hagrid wouldn't last much longer at Hogwarts.

* * *

"You've been avoiding me." Harry spoke as he ran to catch up with the Malfoy girl as she wandered the corridors of the castle on her way to the Dumbledore's Army meeting.

"I have nearly spent 24 hours a day with you." Nova frowned as she looked at him but the look on his face told her that he wasn't falling for it. Sighing through her nose, she carried on walking. "Fine…I may have avoided being alone with you, but I don't want to talk about what happened."

"I wasn't going to make you. I just care about you and want you to know that I'm here."

As they arrived at the entrance to the Room of Requirement, Nova hugged him. "I know, I'm sorry." After a few moments, she pulled away from him, "I seem to be saying that a lot lately but this time I do mean it." She smiled as she pushed open the door, only to burst into a fit of laughter.

Hundreds of Christmas decorations were sprawled across the room, all featuring Harry's face and the words "Have a very Harry Christmas!". The look on the boy's face was priceless as he muttered profanities all aimed at the culprit: Dobby the House-Elf.

"I think it's cute." Nova grinned as she held a bauble up to Harry's face, prompting him to nudge her away, smiling despite himself. "I'm keeping this one." She cackled.

Luna Lovegood was the first to arrive, just as Harry had torn down the last of the embarrassing decorations. She immediately joined the pair in a dreamy gaze.

"Mistletoe." She smiled, pointing above their heads as a branch of the festive plant grew down from the roof. The pair looked at one another before following the blonde girl's gaze. As their eyes landed upon the plant, their faces flushed bright crimson and they promptly stepped away from each other. "Good thinking…it's often infested with Nargles."

As it was the last DA meeting before the Christmas holidays, Harry had decided to continue with spells that they had already learned. As usual, Nova paired up with Ginny – it gave them time to gossip about everything as they stunned or disarmed each other. The pair had created a budding friendship and had come to know each other very well. After an hour or so, the class had come to an end with a promise of starting Patronuses after the holidays.

"I'm glad that you still come to these, even though you can already do everything I'm teaching." Harry muttered as Nova handed him a pile of cushions from the floor.

"Well, what can I say? I am a _great_ friend!" Harry watched her as smiled and pulled her curls to the left side of her head as he picked up her textbooks for her. "I need to go and catch up with Ginny." She muttered, taking her textbooks out of his hand. Another branch of mistletoe sprouted from the ceiling, causing her to step back. "I'll see you later."

Nova smiled at Cho in acknowledgement as she passed her on the way out of the Room of Requirement and jogged to catch up with Ginny who stood, waiting, a few metres away.

* * *

The tip of her quill hovered above the empty piece of parchment as she wondered what to write. Hermione, who sat beside Ron on the seat in front of the fire, had nearly filled and entire roll and yet Nova couldn't even find the words to begin. She had promised Draco that she would respond to their parents but after an hour of deliberation, she hadn't written a single letter and the constant groaning from Ron as he attempted his homework, certainly wasn't helping.

As Harry entered the common room and sat across from her, she frowned at his shell-shocked expression which hadn't gone unnoticed by Ron and Hermione. After a few minutes of unanswered questions, Ron and Nova had narrowed it down to Cho.

"Did you kiss?" Hermione asked abruptly, causing Nova to snap her quill.

Harry's gaze wandered over the girl as she frowned slightly at her parchment, before he nodded causing Ron to laugh triumphantly. Hermione smiled until her eyes landed on the pair who sat at the table, Harry's expression still held the look of glee but as he stared at Nova, who's expression was unreadable (a Malfoy trait), his eyes held something else.

"Well?" Ron prompted, completely missing the tension that had surrounded the group, "How was it?"

Nova had an unfamiliar feeling in her chest as she felt her throat close. "I need to go and send this letter." She muttered as she rose from her seat, avoiding Harry's gaze and folding the parchment.

The boy watched her leave, at war with his emotions as she adverted her eyes from him. He had liked Cho Chang for a while now but as he watched Nova Malfoy walk away from him, he began to doubt himself. As the portrait closed behind her, he wondered where she was going – wondered if she had realised that he knew that the parchment was blank.


	9. CHAPTER 8

_Thank you to everyone who let me know that my chapter looked like an impossible equation!_

 _Sorry that the chapter is so short, I have a killer migraine._

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter world, all rights go to J.K Rowling. I do however own my original character Nova Malfoy and her background.**

As Harry lay in the darkened boys dormitories, his stomach leapt as thoughts of the evening danced around his brain. He smiled stupidly as he tried to mull over Hermione's dissection of the kiss he had shared with Cho and his mind kept wandering to the youngest Malfoy. The pair had spent the latter of the day together and the Potter boy could honestly say that he had missed her in the few days that she had been avoiding him. As he lay in bed, he wondered what she was thinking about and a frown etched its way across his brow as he questioned why she had run off and had all but ignored him as he waited in the common room for her to return. As he rolled over onto his side and sleep engulfed him, he concluded that in place of Divination, he could really use a lesson into the workings of the female mind.

Nova ran a cold finger over the slight burn that she had accidentally given herself earlier that evening. Wincing, she recalled the way that the flames licked her palm as her emotion ignited the blank parchment whilst she wandered the corridors of the castle, trying to maintain control. Her hands shook as she forced herself to breathe and her power threatened to explode out of her. She groaned internally, throwing herself into her pillow as she thought of the confusion on Harry's face as she hid her hand and muttered another excuse before bolting into the girls' dormitories. She rolled her eyes, feeling like an idiot as the dull ebbing pain on her hand, lulled her to sleep.

Sweat beaded across Harry's forehead as he twisted and turned against his pillow trying to rid himself of the nightmare that had latched onto him.

Nova's forehead creased and her body cooled as if her blood had run cold. Her eyes flickered behind her eyelids, a constant metronome to an unknown beat and her cold clammy hands clutched at the soft cotton sheets that covered her as she was consumed by her dream world.

As Harry watched the reflection of a snake gliding through a darkened corridor, all tiled in black, his frown grew deeper. With every subtle slide across the waxy surface of the unknown hallway, he realised that the clear reflection was his own.

Confusion acquainted itself with the young girl as she watched her hand run over the dull metal of a snake-engraved tap. Her eyes narrowed in concentration, watching the fingertips glide over the faucet and realising that she couldn't feel a thing; the hand was not her own. Delicate sobs bubbled from an unknown throat in a cubicle to the left of her, yet she did not move.

A ball of white light illuminated an unknown room, dancing off of the crystal balls as they met in the symphony. The tips of short red hair radiated in the light of the spell as Harry struggled to keep up with the pace of the dream sequence.

A foreign language twirled off of Nova's tongue in a voice that did not belong to her. The words slithered through the air as the bathroom sinks began to turn and separate from one another and the sobbing girl continued to wail and moan.

Harry thrashed against the sheets of his bed as he watched through the eyes of a snake as it attacked Arthur Weasley. His jaws almost tired as he felt them bite down, puncturing the older man's face as he desperately reached for his wand, helpless against an unexpected foe.

The foreign commands continued to slither out of Nova's mouth as she watched a giant snake enter the bathrooms. It glided past her and towards the cubicle to her left, hanging onto every syllable she hissed and she felt the power and adrenaline rush through her; the incredible beast was under her control yet she would not look at it.

Red hair mixed with red blood on the black tiles of the unknown room. It reminded Harry of Ginny and the Chamber of Secrets, another of his surrogate family that he had endangered. Guilt rolled through him as Arthur's eyes rolled in his head as it smacked the cool marble tiles.

The bathroom was left in an eerie silence as the sobbing ceased. Nova's stomach lurched with a concoction of fear and excitement, some of which she knew did not belong to her and the toilet cubicle's door creaked open with a longing screech that pierced the silence like a knife.

The voice of his best friend pulled him out of his nightmare as he watched Arthur's life drain from his eyes. Calling out, Harry succumbed to the rattling of his shoulder at the hands of a concerned Ron. As his green eyes finally opened, he knew that it had been more than a dream.

As a final venomous order slid out of her mouth Nova gasped, frozen as her eyes briefly met a little bespectacled girl. In the real world her body thrashed at her blankets, calling out as the girl stared at the magnificent snake in front of her and a sick form of pleasure mingled with her fear as the girl fell lifelessly against the porcelain of the toilet. In the dream world, the body that she had possessed remained still, revelling in the sight with a twisted sense of pride and cunning.

Images of a black diary flooded her mind as Hermione woke her. Her lungs gasped for air and she bolted upright, looking at her concerned friend through glassy, tear stained eyes. A pain shot up her chest, as if a knife were slashing her very soul, prompting her to grip the bedsheets once more as her control over her powers lapsed and the goblet of water on her table exploded beside her. Hermione lowered her hand from shielding her eyes as she glanced around before smiling sympathetically at her friend.

As Nova took a few calming breaths, her warm grey eyes landed on a pile of dark grey ash that circled her bed as if she were performing a pagan ritual.

"Is that…?"

"Your textbooks and homework? Yes…" Hermione grimaced as if she had witnessed the crime of the century.

A groan sounded between the pair as Nova threw her head back onto her pillow, "Can you fix it?" She asked a little too optimistically as she looked up, her hair black as night as it lay around her head like a halo.

"I already tried, sorry." Her friend shrugged, "On the bright side, you can look at it as a second chance to do it properly?"

The young witch had never looked more like her twin brother as she did when she glared at the Granger girl; the tension was short-lived as the girls laughed, amused by Hermione's lack of sensitivity. The silence of the dorm appeared to prod at Nova, it grew into an unapproachable itch as it festered at the back of her subconscious. The rest of the girls slept on, oblivious to the destruction. The dormitory rooms either side seemed deathly quiet and as Nova's thoughts flashed to Ginny, next door, she knew something was wrong yet a darkness fell over her mind as if a memory had been removed. "I didn't…I didn't hurt anyone, did I?"

Concern controlled every muscle on her face as she looked at Hermione once more. A hint of contempt lingered through the hazel eyes as the witch shook her head and sat down on the bed beside the younger girl. Nova's brow creased ever-so-slightly as she studied the way Hermione anxiously picking at her neatly trimmed fingernails and bit her lip before asking: "What were you dreaming about?"

"I don't remember."

"Nova…I think you need to talk to Dumbledore." The older witch continued, trying to ignore the fact that her friend had effortlessly lied to her face. "You were whispering in your dream…It might be nothing, but…you were talking in Parseltongue."

The young Malfoy's face faltered slightly as a lump grew in her throat and her heart pounded in her ears, blocking out the remainder of Hermione's words. Truth be told, she could remember the dream, every sordid little detail and truth be told, Nova knew that something hadn't been the same with her since that night. Truth be told? Nova relished in the power that she felt as she relived the memories of the darkest wizard of all time and she wasn't about to stop. Nova Malfoy hadn't dreamt about anything that night, she had remembered.


	10. CHAPTER 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter world, all rights go to J.K Rowling. I do however own my original character Nova Malfoy and her background.** _  
_

 _Dear Snuffles,_

 _I am terrified and you are the only person that I can talk to yet, I fear that you might misunderstand._

 _Ever since I broke into_ his _head, I have been reliving his memories over and over again. I feel like I am obsessed. I am trying not to say too much in writing as you have warned me about that before but I have been dreaming about moments in his life but that is not what scares me…_

 _I am petrified because I like the power that it gives me. Is that wrong? It feels wrong._

 _I hope this finds you well._

\- _NM._

As Nova watched her owl fly across the snow-coated hills that cradled the castle, she took a deep breath and tried to rid herself of the dark clouds that seemed to herd around her, following her and threatening to ruin her day with another bout of turmoil. Pigwidgeon screeched for her attention as she stepped away from the window ledge, the tiny grey owl sticking out its leg and offering her a letter.

 _Nova,_

 _Update as promised._

 _Dad is recovering and the doctors say that he will pull through however we might be in St. Mungo's for Christmas._

 _We hope this ratty little owl gets to you, it's as stupid as its owner._

 _\- Fred and George._

Chuckling slightly, she watched Ron's owl fly away and stuffed the letter into her pocket. Smiling to herself, she descended down the steps of the owlry – careful not the slip on the thick ice that layered them. Her heart went out to the Weasleys after learning that their father had been attacked. It angered her to think of the good-natured and kind hearted family spending Christmas in St. Mungo's hospital due to the sheer audacity of one egotistical wizard. Nova would never understand the workings of Voldemort's mind and that was perhaps what drew her into his memories, kept her watching his life in the comfort of her own mind. However, her lack of understanding was also her problem, the simple thing that caused the gaping rift in her relationship with her mother and father. Faith is a powerful thing, the foundation of values and belief and the young witch had realised at a very tender age that hers could not be moulded by the hands of another, could not be wrought and altered. From a very tender age, Nova Malfoy realised that she had been born different and unfortunately for her, no amount of pureblood manipulation could change that.

As she entered the deserted common room, she absentmindedly picked at the burnt skin on the palm of her hand as she gazed out of the window into the fields of magical white. In the silence, she soon began the dangerous trek into the depths of her mind as it pulled at something she had heard Dumbledore mutter during their meeting the previous night: _"Whilst the other is no stranger…the mind walker from dying a martyr…"_. The words themselves held little meaning to the girl but something within the depths of her conscious felt the need to remind her of them:

 _"Professor…the notebook in my dream," Nova began, choosing her words carefully and slowly. "I have seen it before. In my father's desk." Having piqued Dumbledore's attention, the young witch sighed and continued, "It was during the second year of my home-schooling, I had run out parchment and I found the empty book in his office…He was furious when he found out that I had taken it but his eyes…I have never seen such terror."_

 _"And what became of this book?"_

 _"My father got rid of it when he took Draco into Diagon Alley for his books…I don't know what he did with it but it wasn't in his robes when I went looking." The girl answered plainly, "But I do know that it found its way back to Hogwarts and that it was destroyed."_

 _Leaning forward in his chair slightly, Dumbledore raised an eyebrow and pulled the diary out of the top drawer of his desk. "Nova, how do you know that?"_

 _"I saw it." A deep set frown appeared across her brow as the old wizard watched fear muddle with the confusion in her eyes. "Since meeting Voldemort – since I used legilimency on him – I feel different."_

 _"When two forces of a similar magnitude meet, they leave a mark. A scar. It is my belief that when you fought him, he left a mark in your mind – a footprint, if you will and perhaps time will allow us to determine, if you stepped just as hard." Comprehending the sheer possibility that the young girl had left a mark on the Dark Lord, was something that had produced a budding seed of hope for the old headmaster and as she sat in front of him with an emotionless expression and power radiating from her, he began to recall something that he had been told long ago… Through silent calculation and recollection, accompanied by blocked attempts to infiltrate the witch's mind, Dumbledore knew that the only way to prove his theory was to ask and so he finally spoke once more: "Miss Malfoy, it is imperative that you remember. When you found this diary, did you write in it?"_

 _Fiddling with her fingers whilst avoiding eye contact, Nova shamefully remembered what it had felt like to have someone to talk to, someone (or rather something) that appeared to understand what it was like to feel like an outsider; a freak. Three years prior when she was too lonely to care about the consequences, she had ignored all instinct that told her to stay away from the mysterious boy in the book and so as she looked back at the bright blue eyes of the brilliant wizard in front of her, she nodded._

 _Watching as the man jumped from his seat and began pacing, stroking his beard as his eyes flashed with recognition. Muttering incoherently with the occasional "of course!", the wizard soon stopped and looked at her before turning away and whispering to himself: "the other is no stranger…the mind walker."_

 _"Um…professor?"_

 _"Perhaps it would not be unwise to suggest that when you wrote in the diary, you created a kinship between your soul and Tom Riddle's" Dumbledore rambled, wide eyed before turning his back once more, "Perhaps that's why…"_

"Your brother is terrorising Hufflepuffs in the corridor. He's supposed to be a prefect!" Hermione announced as she stormed into the common room, followed by Harry. Receiving nothing but a brief 'hm' from an unconcerned Nova as she drew shapes in the condensation that had collected on the window pane, prompted the older girl to growl and storm into the dormitories before reappearing with a pile of books. "I'm going to library to get some last minute reading before the holidays. You two ought to do the same!"

Silence fell over the raven haired pair as they grinned at their friend's outburst, avoiding eye contact until one of them dared to speak. It was a problem that the pair had often had around one another, yet there was no reason for it. Being tongue-tied around someone who ought to be the only person who understands your plight is something that befuddled the youngest Malfoy however, actions are said to speak louder than words. She continued drawing her spiralled maze on the common room window as Harry moved to stand beside her, a frown grazing his brow as his green eyes caught the soft red burn on the palm of her hand.

"It was an accident." Nova muttered, catching his questioning stare. "I heard about your nightmare…are you okay?" She studied the boy for a moment as he bit the inside of his cheek and looked out of the window, nodding unconvincingly as an agonising silence cradled the pair. Having felt conflicted about the boy's feelings for the Ravenclaw girl, Nova had opted to avoid him – therefore leaving the oblivious boy in a state of insecurity and confusion as the nerves pounded in his gut.

"I'm not going to see you over the break, am I?"

"Dumbledore thinks that it's better if I stay out of trouble…" She admitted, keeping her gaze firmly on the droplets of water as they ran down the window pane. "I feel like I can't breathe." Nova sighed as she tucked a darkened curl behind her ear, having finally found the words that she needed to say aloud. "Like everyone expects something of me and…and I don't know what I'm supposed to do." She continued, "I threw myself into this mess without thinking about it. I don't know if I was just rebelling against my father but, it was stupid."

Carefully, Harry wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to him. "You are doing what's right." He whispered, reassuring her as she rested her head on his shoulder. "Do you ever get the feeling that Dumbledore isn't telling us something? That the Order know more than they say?"

"Yes. I hadn't thought about it until last night…" Nova sighed, pulling back to look at him again. "When I told Dumbledore about what I had been seeing in my nightmares, he had this look in his eye like he knew something. He then started pacing and muttering under his breath…I have an awful feeling that whatever they know, affects not only you but me too."

As the boy looked at her closely, he nodded in agreement. The uneasy feeling bred insecurity between the pair of teens who seemed to be a lot more important that they would ever realise. "So what do we do?" He asked as he let his hand drop from her arm.

"I don't know but we can't fight a battle that we know nothing about and if I know one thing, it's that I will not be a pig sent to the slaughter." As anger began to beat through her blood with every thump of her heart, an odd sense of madness seemed to warp itself around her brain. She could feel it in the depths of her subconscious as it twisted her thoughts, yearning for her to yield to it. Harry watched closely as a hurricane torn through her grey eyes. Her hand clenched as her frustration formed an alliance with her inner torment and the darkness that had been ebbing at the corners of her mind began to swallow the light, starving it of hope as it slowly began to extinguish. There had been many a time that Harry had relied on that hope, relied on that spark that shone in her eye to pull him through the darkest of days and so it scared him as he watched it visibly fade. "There's a storm coming." She muttered, jumping from her reverie as his hand was place on top of hers. "And I'm not sure that we know how to dance in the rain."

* * *

It felt odd being back at Malfoy Manor, like she was a gladiator in a pit of lions; a fly caught in a spider's web. A lion pretending to be a snake. It had been a week since she had left Hogwarts and she was missing it more than she could ever have imagined. Her stomach lurched as her mother tossed her dresses to try on and warned her to behave herself when her grandfather visited and she felt nauseous as she imagined the accusatory glances and the questions regarding her Hogwarts house. Her hands trembled as the anxiety took a hold of her, a million possibilities of ways in which she could slip up and reveal her indiscretions flashed through her mind. Nova knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that she could trust Draco to remain loyal to her but she was beginning to doubt if she could trust herself as she spent the two entire weeks with her family – two entire weeks without contact from anyone else.

"Nova! That is the third dress." Her mother scolded as the mirror in front of the young witch split down the middle with an almighty _crack_ , causing her to jump and realise that she had been holding her breath. The sleeves of the dress that had resembled her mother's, had been licked with flames and were nothing but a tattered mess. "You need to control it." Narcissa continued as she used her wand to repair the dark green dress.

"Sorry." The youngest Malfoy mumbled before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

"Go and find your brother." The older woman ordered as she planted a chaste kiss on the top of her daughter's head before slapping her hand away from her neck as she desperately pulled the dress upward. "Stop tugging at the collar! You'll rip it."

The family stood, positioned like one of their numerous paintings, as Abraxas Malfoy entered the Manor. Nova couldn't help but notice the striking resemblance that her father and brother had to the older man – a resemblance that she did not possess in the slightest, even the shade of grey that coloured her eyes appeared to differ, as if she weren't a Malfoy at all. The aging man made his way to the four, chin raised as he exhumed the infamous Malfoy pride and formally greeted his grandchildren with a strong but steady handshake.

The family sat at the large table in the cold dining room as the house-elves fluttered around, serving extravagant courses, and Lucius spoke with his father; it was the type of family Christmas that would truly appal Molly Weasley. Nova pushed the food around her plate as she thought of all the places that she would rather be, namely with Sirius, Harry and the Weasleys.

"Your father tells me that you have been excelling in potions class. You must be very bright." Abraxas spoke coolly, drawing the girl's attention as she nodded. "Pity that you hadn't the sense to have yourself housed where you belong instead of mingling with tainted blood." Clenching her jaw, Nova's fists clenched under the table and her nails dug into the palm of her hand. Her mother's and father's eyes widened as they glanced to her, terrified that she would lose control. "I assume that you can reassure me that you haven't had any relations with any of those mudbloods? Awful sort of people. If I were you, Lucius, I would have taken her straight home rather than force her to share air with such filth."

Nova's eyes hardened as the candles on the table began to flicker violently and her nails dug deeper into her skin, drawing blood as her knuckles whitened with strain. Her teeth clenched ferociously as the flames grew higher, her glass shook aggressively, and her parents glanced warily at one another. The tension around the table formed a great icy wall, freezing everyone to their seats and yet it had gone unnoticed by Abraxas Malfoy who had continued to lecture about his granddaughter whom had broken the long line of Slytherins – blaming both Nova and his son's ability to bring up two children at the same time. As Nova fought for control over her emotions which consequently controlled her magic, Draco grabbed her hand underneath the table and held it tightly.

"Don't." He whispered, inaudible to everyone but his sister who sat to his right as the glass in front of them began to crack under the pressure. "You're stronger than that."

After a moment, Lucius let out a sigh of relief as the flames dimmed back to normal and his daughter's glass had stopped vibrating. Draco's face showed a sliver of a smile as he felt her fist unclench and she looked to him with a thankful expression.

"May I be excused?" The young witch asked, clearing her throat slightly and placing her napkin on the table as she looked directly to her father for support. "I am not feeling very well."

Nova Malfoy was a hurricane. A nuclear weapon that was almost impossible to control. As she closed her bedroom door, she slid down to the floor. Controlling magic as strong as that was something that drained her completely yet where does it go? When a bomb explodes, it sends out a shockwave of energy around it, destroys everything in its path with a wall of fiery red flames but what if that bomb was to continually force its energy inwards? Those were questions that no one had ever bothered to ask regarding the force of nature that was the youngest Malfoy twin. Perhaps it was because they did not want to know the answer but everything has a breaking point. As her heart pounded ferociously, Nova realised that she was beginning to crack, physically and mentally; there was a limit to the number of internal explosions that her body could withstand, a limit to the mental anguish that she put herself through daily. Living up to her namesake, Nova's magic truly did flourish brightly and repeatedly.

Pulling her head from her hands, the witch's eyes finally landed on a pile of presents that were hidden under her bed. Frowning, she pulled them out to find a note from Dobby:

 _Dobby was sorry to miss Nova Malfoy but he has delivered her presents. Dobby thought it was best to keep them hidden. Dobby would also like to thank his friend, Nova Malfoy for the socks and the scarf as he likes them very much. Dobby now has thirteen socks!_

Despite her sombre mood and extreme exhaustion, the girl grinned genuinely as she opened the gifts. Beginning with the large parcel that had been terribly wrapped in pages from the Daily Prophet, she unwrapped a framed painting from Dobby and although she was completely oblivious as to what it was, she was grateful nonetheless. Next came a scarlet and golden quill (that reminded her of one of Fawke's feathers) from Hermione followed by a matching hat and scarf from Ginny. A small box with scrappy handwriting caught her attention next and she immediately knew it to be Ron's:

 _Charlie finds these rather useful!_

A frown grazed her brow as she wondered what he could have possibly given her but as she ripped away the paper, a laugh erupted from her. Fireproof gloves.

Next, Nova opened a brown leather journal and a pair of Extendable ears from Fred and George which had been wrapped with a picture of the pair grinning cheekily with the deeds to 93 Diagon Alley after she had gifted them the deposit.

Chuckling, she opened a mokeskin pouch from Dumbledore which held the message: " _Some things are best kept hidden_ " and the large parcel wrapped in bright red paper which contained a knitted burgundy jumper with an N on it from Mr and Mrs Weasley accompanied by a letter:

 _Merry Christmas Nova! Everybody in the family has one and so it is only fitting that you do too. You didn't think that we would forget about you, did you?!_

 _Arthur is feeling much better and we all miss you dearly._

 _Lots of love, Molly_

She smiled softly, as her fingertips grazed the parcel that had Harry's writing scrawled across the top of it. Opting to open the present first, she frowned when she found a peculiar little item that seemed to resemble a net with feathers attached. Her frown grew deeper as she picked it up to examine it closer and drew the conclusion that she had absolutely no idea what he had given her.

 _It's a dreamcatcher. Muggles use them to keep away nightmares, I am not sure if it actually works but I thought that you might like it. I wish I could have seen the confusion on your face!_

 _Merry Christmas, Nova._

 _I miss you. I feel like the others don't want to be alone with me after what happened with Mr Weasley and I am scared that if Voldemort is controlling me, he will use me to hurt them. Does that make sense? I tried to talk to Dumbledore about it but as always, he won't tell me anything!_

 _I am so angry all of the time, I can't help it._

 _Please be careful if any of his followers are near you. I don't know what I would do if you got hurt._

\- _Harry_

Finally, at the bottom of the pile was a letter that she had been desperately waiting for over the past week

 _Nova,_

 _I received your letter and although your thoughts have troubled me, I have complete faith in you. You may have power beyond your comprehension but you are nothing like him. You are kind and you are pure, never let anyone take that away from you._

 _Not everyone who has tasted power is dark. The world is going to need you and you are one of the bravest people that I have ever met; you are a guiding light with the strength to stand against those that you hold dear and it is an admirable quality. You are good. Never forget that._

 _On a lighter note, I have enclosed a gift for you. Promise me that you will never take it off._

 _Merry Christmas._

 _Love, Sirius_

 _PS. Thank you for the pocket watch, it is beautiful. Yes, it was opened early but you have Buckbeak to thank for that._

A single tear escaped her eye as she folded the letter and put it straight into the mokeskin pouch for safe keeping before reaching for the tiny little box that sat beside it. Carefully tearing the paper away and opening the black box, she was met with the most magnificent pendant that she had ever seen. A sleek hand-carved dog made of jet stone swung gracefully from a silver chain, reminding her of Sirius' animagus form. The sheer beauty of it left her at a loss for words as she gently clasped it around her neck, allowing it to hang across her breastbone.

She loved it with all her heart. Almost as much as she loved the man who had made it.

* * *

The sun shone through her window and illuminated her face, waking her from her slumber. Groggily, she rubbed her eyes and stretched her hands above her head before stepping out of bed and onto the soft carpet that covered her bedroom floor. After washing her face and dragging a hand through her unruly curls, she quickly changed out of her pyjamas and ventured out into the corridor that connected her room to Draco's. Echoes of voices danced up the marble staircase, drawing her attention and prompting her to make her way to the source; the library.

The black marble fireplace was lit with a flickering flame that highlighted the numerous terrifying shadows that moved fluidly throughout the large room. The bookcases stood from the floor to the ceiling, all packed fruitfully with every book that the young witch could imagine and she was positive that she had read all of them. Turning the corner at the far end of the library, Nova was met with her parents and her brother whom had been sitting with a pot of tea; a spare cup sat on the tray waiting for her arrival.

"How are you feeling?" Her father asked as she sat down in the velvet arm chair across from him. His cold grey stare surveying his youngest child. "We felt it best to leave you to sleep."

"Better, thank you." The girl muttered as she sipped at the tea that the house-elf had handed her. "What are those?" She asked, nodding toward a large pile of parcels that a second house-elf was struggling to carry towards her. She bit her lip slightly as she refrained from helping the poor elf, knowing that it would only result in their punishment.

Exchanging gifts at Christmas was something that most families did and the Malfoys were no exception, however Nova always noticed that they were not gifts from the heart and rather the most expensive of things that money could buy. The witch was guilty of this herself as she had given her twin a very expensive pair of platinum cufflinks which had unintentionally matched the bracelet that he had given her, perfectly. Jealously was another element that shone through the Malfoy family Christmases and birthdays as Nova had always preferred Draco's gifts to her own - an aspect to her personality that she was admittedly ashamed of. This year, however, the tables had been turned.

After opening a pile of books and new cauldron and potions supplies, Nova was presented with a much larger gift from her father and upon opening it found her first broomstick. Yet it was not any old broom, it was the fastest and most expensive broom in the world – a Firebolt.

"Father! I am the Seeker – Nova doesn't even know how to fly!" Draco complained, his face full of envy as he stared at his sister. She could almost feel the rage seeping through his pores as his face contorted into a scowl and he complained about his Nimbus.

"Don't be jealous, Draco." Narcissa scolded lightly, prompting the boy to storm out.

It was unusual for the older twin to leave without an argument and so Nova knew that she would hear about it later but she could never have prepared for how badly it would go. All siblings argue and the twins were no different but with countless near accidents over the holidays fusing together and brewing for destruction, that argument was one that neither of them would win.

"I doubt father would be so set on buying your affections if he knew what you had been up to with Potter."

Nova's eyes closed as she sighed through her nose, the twins were alone in the large entrance hall of Malfoy Manor and the witch had hoped that her brother wouldn't take his envy out on her.

"I haven't been up to anything with _Harry_." She spoke through gritted teeth as she headed toward the staircase in an attempt to avoid an argument. Or rather to avoid anyone overhearing them.

"Really? Hanging around with him, Weaslebee and the Mudblood…" He continued, following her down the hallway. "Cosying up with Dumbledore?" Nova continued to ignore him, maintaining a distance. "He'd call you a traitor!" Draco spat.

It was if a switch had been flicked within the young girl's mind as she halted in her spot and her face grew darker. Memories of her aunt flashed through her mind as she recalled the blinding pain that had soared through her collarbone on the awful afternoon. Clenching her jaw tightly, she used every ounce of control that she had to give her brother one last chance to change his mind: "What did you say?" She asked in a low and threatening tone, her hands clenched into fists and her chin raised slightly.

"He'd call you a _traitor._ "

Before the boy could blink, he found his back against the wall. Rage was the only emotion that Nova could feel as the numerous internal explosions wired themselves together and erupted as one. The cracks that had been forming since she had come home from Hogwarts were deepening as she held her brother against the wall with one hand. She could not see anything but the fear in his eyes as a magical whirlwind whipped her dark hair around them. The silver chandelier that hung in the hallway, crashed to the floor sending shards of glass into the hurricane and allowing them to tear and their faces. Yet Nova felt no pain. The power that flowed through her veins and darkened her face, caused a slight smirk to manifest as her grip on her brother tightened. The pictures that lined the walls and the candelabras that sat pretty on the sideboards flew around the room as the chaos increased. Draco gasped for air and pleaded with the girl that no longer resembled his kind and caring sister as their parents rushed into the eye of the storm. Their words fell on deaf ears and as Lucius tried a number of spells to render her unconscious, she easily deflected them. For the first time, Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy were terrified of their daughter – they had seen her lose control before but the magic that they were experiencing was like nothing they had seen before.

Nova's eyes were almost black as she choked the life out of her brother. With the reminder of her ordeal fresh in her mind, she had had no will to fight for control. No power to control the sheer force of magic that she had locked deep within her. As she completely lost herself in the whirlwind that had smashed their hall into tiny little pieces, Nova realised that she had been weak. She had allowed herself to lose.

 _"You are nothing like him. You are kind and you are pure…You are good."_

Hearing Sirius' words as they fought their way through the thick, black evil that had consumed her, had felt like a slap to the face. Like a fire had been lit to scare away the shadows. As the light within her began to combat the dark, the storm inside the Manor slowed to a stop. Nova gasped in despair and her heart sunk as she blinked back the tears furiously and she dropped her brother. She gazed at her trembling hands as she backed away from the terrified looks of her family members, her mouth opening but finding no words. Blood trickled down her cheeks from the numerous shards of glass that littered her skin as she looked at the chaos that she had created.

Many held the belief that Nova would bring light to the war but as she stood in the hallway under the fearful stares, she knew that she was only meant for destruction.


	11. CHAPTER 10

_A/N: Thank you so much, Leigh, for your reviews. I loved reading your thoughts and they really made my day!_

 _I hope that you like this chapter just as much, please let me know what you think._

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter world, all rights go to J.K Rowling. I do however own my original character Nova Malfoy and her story.

The flames that surrounded the bathtub danced in her eyes as she leant her head against the cool tiles of the bathroom. She had always had a slight obsession with fire, the sheer beauty of it masking its destruction from the world. As she sat in the silent serenity, her mind recalled the fear that she had put into her brother's eyes with every blink and her head pounded with inner torment. Nova knew that she did not deserve her twin's unconditional forgiveness; she could have killed him and deep within the roots of her tangled mind, she thought that perhaps a part of her wanted to and that simple idea festered like a virus, convincing her that the recent change in her did not warrant his undying loyalty.

Loyalty can be so incredibly fickle, yet it often presents itself as an unrelenting devotion to another person. For the Malfoy twins, it was unyielding; an irrevocable alliance forged in blood that could never be tainted by the pressures of the world. It was the one thing that had remained constant in Nova's life, whether or not she deserved it. As morality swung back and forth like a pendulum, it remained an unspoken law that should the need arise, either would tip the scale into unwanted territory to protect their other half. Uncompromising loyalty makes people dangerous and there was nothing that Nova wouldn't do to protect her brother.

As this thought matured in the depths of her mind, Nova knew that it was the reason that she had been so devastated with her earlier actions. The reason that she had sat in the shallow water for a number of hours despite the array of apologies and the gifts of forgiveness that had been shared among the family. Her lips quivered slightly as cool air hit her and the water drained from the grand porcelain bath as she pulled her pyjamas over her dripping wet hair. Dragging a hand across the misty mirror, she scanned the silvery scar that crossed her collarbone. It always seemed to captivate her in the most manipulative of ways, a constant reminder of her differences – a gateway that allowed the darkness to seep into her pores and cultivate her mind.

The dripping of the faucet caught her attention, forcing her to tighten the tap before turning to exit the bathroom. Her bare feet padded against the black marble tiles until the dripping of water brought her to a halt with a soft sigh, forcing her back towards the sink to tighten the tap once more. Running a hand through her damp hair, she frowned when the sound of running water echoed through the room yet again. She turned around and glanced at the sink, only to find that there was no water. The frown on her brow grew deeper still as she checked the bath also – no running water. _Drip, drip, drip._ The sound pounded at her ears as she glanced around the bathroom, reaching into her pocket to retrieve her wand. _Drip, drip, drip._ The hair on the back of her neck stood on end as the young witch felt the air around her freeze and she was firmly rooted to her spot on the marble floor. Grey eyes narrowed and darted around the room to find the source and pale hands clutched at her dragon heartstring and cedar wand. A deafening silence suffocated the room prompting the girl to hold her breath as she shivered in apprehension, instinctively backing towards the door until a whispering caught her attention.

It was a language that she had only heard in her dreams, in the Dark Lord's memories and it instantly sliced through her heart as it leapt into her throat. The hissing grew steadily louder as it shouted foreign commands at her and begged for her to listen and in her mind's eye she saw a snake, stalking her like prey as its yellow eyes watched her every moment. A scream caught in her throat as her hands clutched at her head begging to dampen the sound as the snake drew itself backwards, ready to strike. The scream escaped as nothing but a whimper as the snake dived through the air and disappeared into her chest. Into the scar that slithered across her collar. Into the gateway that welcomed the darkness and offered it a safe haven within the confines of her heart.

Panic acquainted itself with the youngest Malfoy as she yanked open the heavy wooden door that enclosed the bathroom. Her body moved without the permission of her mind until she saw her brother. She had been avoiding him after the earlier events but in that moment nothing mattered but the comfort of her twin.

"What's wrong?" Draco asked as she almost knocked him over, a subtle frown on his face as he returned her hug quickly before pulling away and looking at her unusually pale face. "If this is about earlier, I told you that there is nothing to forgive. Mother and father know that I provoked you."

"It's not." Nova answered a little too quickly, prompting her brother to narrow his cold grey eyes at her. "I just…I feel guilty."

"We're Malfoys; we don't feel guilty about anything." The older of the two dismissed, "I'm going out for a walk around the grounds. Get changed, I'll wait for you."

* * *

The grounds of Malfoy Manor were deathly silent – aside from the occasional cry of their white peacock. Draco's gloved hands clasped at the lantern as he navigated the snow-coated ground with his sister, who occasionally grasped his arm to prevent herself from slipping.

"I suppose you'll be glad to go back to Hogwarts."

A ghost of a smile crossed Nova's face as she considered the way that he sneered whenever he mentioned the school of witchcraft and wizardry and she recalled the argument that had ensued after their mother refused to allow him to attend Durmstrang, in fear that he would be drawn to the Dark Arts. Nova had been told off for telling her that considering the family's choice of companions, it was a highly hypocritical decision.

"I like it there." The girl responded as she fiddled with the middle finger of her green woollen gloves.

Draco nodded as their boots crunched against the hardened snow: "You're keeping something from me." He muttered after a moment of silence, glancing sideways at his twin as her head whipped around to look at him. "You have been for a while…" A soft sigh parted his lips as he looked up at the stars that blanketed the night sky with a hint of vulnerability that had only ever been reserved for her. "I won't make you tell me what it is – I could, but I am not going to."

"No you couldn't." Nova smirked, earning an identical one in response.

"Things have been rather strained recently but I'll always do what I can to protect you." The unusual sincerity in his voice, threw her off for a second as she looked at the serious expression that coated his pale skin.

"And as the smarter (and prettier) twin, I swear to do what I can to save you from your own stupidity." Nova laughed, highlighting her dimples, as her brother playfully pushed her away whilst trying to maintain his famous stoic expression. "You know, smiling won't crack your face." She added in jest, holding her arms out to her side to maintain balance on the icy path beside the fountains as she spotted subtle hints of the smile that Draco had been fighting.

"From now on, I suggest that you do your own astronomy homework."

A comfortable silence fell over the twins as Nova slid back towards her brother and they carried on, arm in arm, across the vast grounds of the manor as the night continued to fall around them. Neither worrying about what the world would think of them as they uttered words into the night sky. It was moments like those that the young witch had missed; moments like those that cemented their unbreakable bond.

* * *

The air felt slightly warmer as Nova crossed the cobbled courtyard after arriving back at school. The youngest Malfoy doubted that the sheer presence of the castle would ever produce anything other than awe in her eyes. Draco scowled as Goyle fawned over his sister, offering to carry everything for her and his eyes nearly rolled out of his head as she allowed him to despite him clearly stating that she was more than capable of carrying a few textbooks. The girl with the black curly hair and the kind grey eyes had always had the world wrapped around her little finger whether she knew it or not and the older twin knew for sure that he was on the most tightly wound string of all.

Her warm eyes searched her surroundings, subconsciously looking for someone as her brother tossed insults at every second person they passed and Pansy Parkinson talked her ear off about her holiday.

"Nova, are you even listening to me?" Pansy huffed, placing a hand on her hip and tilting her head as she waited for a response.

"Nope, sorry." The young witch mumbled as she looked through the Slytherin girl that had been determined to befriend her. Scanning the heads of every student that passed, Nova continued her search as Pansy sighed and said that she might see her later before disappearing into the crowd.

Draco rolled his eyes and grabbed his sister's arm, guiding her into the castle. "As much as I appreciate your talent to rid me of Pansy…It wouldn't do you any harm to have a friend that mother and father would approve of."

"Yes, Sir!" Nova saluted mockingly with the signature Malfoy smirk that soon morphed into her infectious grin as her brother stood in front of her looking thoroughly unamused. As she opened her mouth to say something, her eyes were drawn to a flash of red as a familiar redhead entered the hall, prompting her to mutter a goodbye and disappear after her friend, leaving her brother and Goyle, who looked longingly after her as he cradled her books.

The grounds of the castle were swamped with students who were returning to Hogwarts throughout the day; it was almost impossible to find anyone. Her shoes knocked on the stone floors as she wandered deeper into the castle, exchanging pleasantries with the people that caught her eye. In front of her, Luna was wandering around dreamily with a vacant smile on her face as her hands skimmed the walls and her eyes remained glued to the ceiling. Nova found herself wishing that she could live in Luna's seemingly carefree world as she accidentally read her thoughts. As she passed through the crowds of students, Nova's mind was filled with thoughts and feelings that were not her own, forcing her to stop and take a deep breath as nausea bubbled at the base of her throat. Her ability to use Legilimency had increase in the last few months to the extent that it occurred as easily as a breath and as powerfully as a fully charged rod of lightening, and the young witch was struggling to swim in the deep ocean of emotion that latched onto her whenever she entered a crowded room. Many a wizard may view the ability to read minds as a blessing but as her natural ability grew in strength, the Malfoy girl viewed it as a curse.

A squeal yanked her out of the depths like a lifeguard as it erupted through the Great Hall, causing her black curls to whip her face as she spun around to face the doorway. The wind was knocked out of her as she was tackled into a bone-crushing hug before she even had the time to blink. Startling her to the extent that she nearly punched the culprit prior to realising who it was.

"Can't breathe, Ginny!" Nova coughed as she pulled away from the Weasley girl (who was incredibly strong for her stature) with a grin.

"You're late! You missed the feast." The girl scolded as they began to walk away. "Ron used it as an excuse to eat twice the amount." She added as Nova laughed. The laugh was genuine, unlike the many that she often crafted, the type that was almost as rare as natural Legilimens.

"My grandfather visited again to remind my father how disappointed he is in his ability to bring up two children appropriately and my mother insisted on one family meal without explosions or an excess of fire."

"Now, Nova. You are not to burn your father's luscious locks; they took him thirty years to grow!" Ginny cackled as she spoke with a posh English accent. Their stomachs ached from laughing as they entered the Gryffindor common room, red faced and teary eyed. "Oh, the next Hogsmeade trip is on Valentine's day." Ginny informed as the girls wandered past the noticeboard and sat on the armchairs beside the fire. She chuckled slightly as the smaller girl groaned, considering the prospect of either accompanying Ron and Hermione – who were both too stubborn to admit their feelings for one another, her brother or Fred and George who would most definitely spend the day trying to pick up the sad, single girls from the Hogs Head or Honeydukes'. "One of the first things Harry did was ask Cho to go with him." The youngest Weasley added, glancing smugly out the corner of her eye and waiting for a reaction. "It's definitely a date."

"Oh…well good for him." Nova replied with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes and an odd sensation in her stomach. As she watched the flames dance around the coals, she recalled that it sounded awfully similar to the feeling that Ginny had gushed to her about during one of the DA meetings but in all her naivety, concluded that it was merely the symptom of her unruly magic. Her gaze caught the redheaded girl to her left as she felt her eyes boring a hole into the side of her face as she raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"You know what." She laughed as she stretched out her legs, placing her feet on Nova's knees, watching as a scowl darkened her friend's features – she never did like to talk about Harry.

"So, Michael Corner?" Nova deflected, causing the girl to blush until her cheeks matched the colour of her hair.

"Okay, I yield!"

* * *

As Nova wandered down the staircase towards the front entrance, she ran into Ron and Hermione who had apparently been searching for her since the twins had announced that she was back after they had released her from their Skiving Snackbox brainstorm. Hermione had hugged her after slapping her in the arm for worrying her with a severe lack of communication over the holidays and out of obligation, Ron had offered her a one-armed hug before the pair laughed at how awkward it was.

As the pair updated her about everything that had happened over Christmas at Grimmauld Place – from Arthur's condition to Sirius' sudden depression, Nova listened intently and silently wished that she had found a way to reach them. Her heart broke for her mother's cousin who remained under house arrest and a pang of guilt shot through her at the fact that she had offloaded all of her problems onto him and not realised that something was wrong.

"To be honest, I think he just missed you." Hermione added, "I mean, we all did but Sirius was always waiting for another letter or for you to appear in the fireplace."

"Jesus, Hermione. Don't make her feel bad." Ron scolded as he noticed the expression that had moulded around the Malfoy's usually delicate features.

The frown was short-lived, however, as her eyes landed on a boy with dishevelled raven hair and circular glasses that framed his green eyes as he stood in deep conversation with Cho Chang. An uncontrollable grin highlighted her dimples as the boy looked up, noticing her for the first time and swiftly abandoning the Ravenclaw girl. A similar smile graced his features as he jogged up the stairs towards the trio and wrapped his arms around the one person that he had wanted to confide in over the winter break.

As she held onto Harry, Nova had realised that perhaps she did miss him more than she was willing to admit. It felt right – like the world was in balance when she was with him; like she didn't need to pretend to be anything that she wasn't, like she didn't need to hide anything. It warmed her heart to know that in the uncertainty of her world, she had someone that knew how she felt. The embrace seemed to last a lot longer than necessary, neither moving to let go. Cho soon caught up and subtly cleared her throat in the uncomfortable situation, encouraging Nova to slowly pull away from Harry.

"So he does know how to smile." Ron muttered, noting the stupid smile on his best friend's face as his gaze remained firmly on the girl. As he also turned his eyes to Nova, who had awkwardly taken a few steps backwards as she asked Cho about her holiday, he nudged her and added: "He's been a right foul git recently."

* * *

Hermione threw a large pile of books down onto the centre table in the library as Ron and Nova sat down – neither of them planned on doing any reading but had figured that it would be better than going to bed early. "I would have thought that Harry would have come with us." She huffed, as she sat down beside Ron.

"He spent the entire holiday with you." Nova immediately defended as she examined the cover of one of the books. "It's the first day back, of course he wants to spend it with Cho."

"Does it bother you?"

Nova stared at the leather bound book for a moment before she opened her mouth to answer her friend's retort, only to be rescued from interrogation by an oblivious Ron.

"Why would it bother her?"

The library was fairly silent as the trio flipped through books. Hermione took notes as Ron looked at the pictures of mythical creatures and it wasn't until the seventh time that Nova realised that she had been skimming the same page. Her mind had disappeared into the veil between reality and fiction, constantly playing scenarios from a play that she had written in her daydreams. Concentration was no longer an option and so she closed the book and revelled in the silence for a moment or two.

"Ron! Stop thinking so loud." Nova hissed placing her face in her hands as her silent reverie was assaulted with the unnecessarily loud ponders of the redheaded boy. "And you're quite right, yellow is not your colour."

Ron's eyes widened as he looked away from her. "Was, um…was that all you heard?"

Nova cringed, quickly shaking her head as she recalled some of the things that had gone through the boy's head. "Please don't make me repeat it."

"Sirius wasn't kidding when he said that you were struggling." The boy replied as he looked at her with a slight frown that almost indicated a whisper of concern.

"It's getting worse."

"When you die, can I have your Firebolt?" Ron whispered with an emotionless expression.

Hermione gasped from beside him: "Ron! That is so rude!"

"Sorry..." The boy mumbled before grinning devilishly and looking back to the girl across from him. "When you die, can I have your Firebolt, _please_?"

As the Granger girl smacked the back of his head with her book, Nova's sniggered. Her laugh grew uncontrollable as the disapproval on Hermione's face intensified. The Malfoy girl's spirits were soon dampened however as the librarian informed her that she had been summoned by the Headmaster, prompting her to sigh and retreat the large oval office.

* * *

"How much longer do I need to attend your little counselling sessions because in case it escaped your notice, they aren't working." She huffed, throwing herself down into the chair across from his and crossing her arms like a petulant child as the old man chuckled.

"Good Christmas I presume?"

"Aside from nearly killing my brother. Grand, thanks." Nova snapped before sighing and running a hand through her hair. "I'm sorry, I'm just frustrated." She smiled sheepishly as the headmaster nodded for her to continue and Fawkes, flew over and perched himself on the arm of her chair. "I can move things without touching them, I can make people do what I want with a simple glance and horrible things happen to people when I'm upset or angry, and whenever I am alone, I lose myself."

Her words rang warning bells in the back of Albus Dumbledore's mind as he watched her utter every syllable. Her choice of words showed striking similarities to those spoken by Tom Riddle on the day that he first encountered the boy that would grow to be one of the darkest wizards of all time. He glanced at the girl warily as he pondered the severity of the situation. With Tom's memories wreaking havoc in her already fragile mind, the old wizard knew that as he tried to prevent her from suffering a similar fate to his sister, he needed to shield her from the darkened path that led a similarly powerful boy astray. "You are never truly alone, Miss Malfoy."

"But I am." The young witch argued as Fawkes nudged her hand, forcing her to smile gently. "Since breaking through Voldemort's defences, my legilimency has been getting worse." She sighed, "I walk into a room and I instantly know what every single person thinks of me. I know how their day has been without having to ask and the simple notion of pretending not to bores me. Every single time I look at my friends, I have to push their thoughts out to reach my own and it's exhausting and overwhelming." Her eyes filled with tears born from anger and sorrow as she looked down at her hands. "I just want it to stop. I didn't ask for any of this."

"One does not ask for their destiny." Dumbledore added in his usual knowledgeable tone, "Life quite possibly changed when your destiny intertwined itself with that of Tom Riddle's but I do not believe that your magic abandoned you that night." A frown crossed Nova's brow as she was reminded of the dormant stance that her magic took against her aunt and the Dark Lord. "It is my belief that it was at its most controlled, in here." The headmaster continued, tapping his temple with a long bony finger. "That night, your true ability was unlocked. With a little practise in the art of control, you will learn to harness the power but as I recall, you were able to plant an idea in Peter Pettigrew's mind forcing him to set you free and as far as I know, there is only one wizard alive who has the ability to do that."

"Lord Voldemort."

"Indeed." The old wizard nodded as he peered over his half-moon glasses with a pleased chuckle. "And I believe that in matters of the mind, he may have met his match."


	12. CHAPTER 11

Thank you to everyone who reads and reviews my chapters. I love reading your opinions, they really motivate me and make me smile - I really appreciate each and every one.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter world; all rights go to J.K Rowling. I do however own my original character Nova Malfoy and her story.

 _Nova,_

 _I am writing to express my deepest of apologies for doubting you when you told me that your aunt had escaped Azkaban. As I am sure you have heard, a number of his followers have escaped and in light of such events, a contact at the Ministry has confirmed that the person inhabiting her cell was nothing more than a very clever decoy._

 _I am sorry that this statement is exceptionally late but, I believe you. I believe in you and I feel terrible for making you feel alone._

 _It is a dangerous time to be in your position, now more than ever. Be careful, keep your friends close and refrain from doing anything stupid._

\- _Remus_

Her grey eyes scanned the letter a number of times as she comprehended the man's apology. She knew that it was genuine for the most part but in reality, it was a mechanism for dealing with guilt and it was of no use to her. The mindless chatter that filled the Great Hall was nothing but an irritating buzz in her ears as she folded the letter and wordlessly placed it in the pocket of her robes, ignoring the inquisitive glances that Hermione and Harry threw her way. The wizarding world had been thrown into panic as it awoke from dreamless slumber to find that ten of the Dark Lord's followers had escaped from the confines of Azkaban and that panic spread like an infection through the minds of anyone who dared to read the Daily Prophet, anyone who was smart enough to realise that the Ministry was doing nothing about it.

Nova's eyes landed on the newspaper in front of her as is flaunted Bellatrix Lestrange's mugshot. The mad look in her black eyes and the unruly curls that were not unlike those that fell on her niece's shoulders, stuck out like a sore thumb and their simple presence, boiled the blood that ran beneath the youngest Malfoy's pale skin. As the chatter continued and her aunt's name flew through the hall like wildfire, her heartbeat pounded in her ears. As Neville's face contorted into a devastating frown and Hermione muttered about the blame that had been shifted to Sirius, Harry followed her stare as it remained fixed on the black and white photo of the madwomen. If she listened closely, her mind allowed her to hear the manic cackles as she watched her silent screams and her pitch black eyes that widened as they darted around the cell with every flash of the camera. Anger flashed over her as she recalled how it felt as each letter penetrated her skin and forced its way into her bones. A permanent reminder of her difference in ideals. A constant memento of her ability to think for herself.

As the tightrope that held her above the burning inferno of sheer anger snapped under the pressure of her thoughts, she snatched the paper out of her friend's hand. Swiftly crumpling it between her fingers with a strength that could bend iron, she took her rage out on the magical newspaper; destroying her aunt's face in the process. Her heart continued to batter her eardrums as her friends stared at her wide-eyed. Her jaw clenched and she closed her eyes, trying to grasp at the tiny tendrils of sanity that dangled in front of her eyes, tauntingly. She jumped as her clenched fists were covered by a larger, warmer hand. The gesture instantly soothed her, grounding her as she looked at the boy beside her with a soft and grateful smile.

"Keep your hands to yourself, Potter." A familiar voice rang out from behind them snapping their eyes away from each other. After a moment or two of staring at the boy defiantly, Harry looked to Nova – who had turned in her seat to face her brother – judged her expression, and reluctantly slid his hand away from hers. "What's wrong?" The older twin whispered, leaning down to his sister's level and placing a hand on her shoulder as he looked directly into the eyes that almost matched his own. He had known from the second that he glanced up from his breakfast that his sister was struggling with her emotions.

"Nothing." Nova smiled, so unconvincingly that even Ron picked up on the lie. Draco's eyes narrowed calculatingly. "I'm okay."

His eyes continued to dart between hers as if she would talk to him telepathically but as the surrounding students began to notice his accidental and impulsive display of concern, he nodded and stood up straight. "I will see you in potions." He spoke confidently as he straightened his shirt, before glaring at Neville and sneering: "What do you think you're looking at, Longbottom?"

* * *

"I hate Herbology." Nova groaned, throwing down her gloves and placing her forehead on Harry's shoulder who chuckled lightly as he glanced down at her. "If I wanted something potted, I would get my gardener to do it." She spoke, allowing her upbringing to slip through. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed a few of the Hufflepuff students glancing over before whispering once more.

Watching as her eyes hardened, Harry followed her line of sight. "Ignore them." He whispered, gently nudging her with his elbow until she turned to face him once more. Grey meeting green as they focussed on something other than their gossiping classmates.

Following the news of the mass breakout, the pair had been the subject of many whispers in the halls of the grand castle. Some of the students whose family members had been affected by the crimes of the Death Eaters in question had taken to comparing their situation to that of Harry's. Nova's ears had burned with whispers regarding her aunt and although many compared the two, it was the whispers of pity that annoyed her the most. The whispers that indicated how sorry her peers felt for her. The whispers that highlighted how different she was to the rest of her family when they knew nothing of her – knew nothing of what she was capable of, should she decide.

"Nova!" Neville whispered from the table behind them, snapping the girl out of her thoughts as she turned her head and looked at him questioningly. "You should put the Screechsnap seedlings in the tray before the dragon dung; makes them easier to plant." He smiled. It was only in that moment that she realised that she had been wrestling with the poor seedlings as they squealed at her. She huffed in frustration. A slight frown crossed her face as she forced her fingers into the gloves and emptied her tray. With a soft and disinterested sigh, she followed the boy's instructions whilst muttering profanities at the seedlings as Harry watched on in amusement, having already completed his assignment. "If, um…if you speak softly to them, they grow better."

With her back to the boy, Nova's mouth opened slightly as she scowled – raising her head in slight disdain. As she ranted under her breath, she dumped a large pile of dragon dung on top of the Screechsnaps, ignoring their screeches as she slapped it down.

"You're my hero!" Nova whispered to the Longbottom boy who grinned at her in pride, as the plump professor praised her potting skills. The class couldn't end quick enough for the young Malfoy witch and so as soon as Professor Sprout had inspected her work, she had grabbed Harry and exited as swiftly as humanly possible.

The pair walked through the corridors and into the common room, shoulder to shoulder in a comfortable silence as they ensured that they had effectively broken Umbridge's decree that boys and girls should not be within eight inches of one another. Dread bubbled in the pit of her stomach as she noticed that there was an increasing number of students with bloodied scars across their hands – the vile woman in pink had continued to throw her weight around with ferocious tenacity, despite their thoughts that the mass breakout may have chastened her.

The common room was surprisingly busy as the pair pushed their way through and sat across from Ron and Hermione who had been bickering about the boy's abysmal attempt at the transfiguration essay. Her eyes soon wandered to the plant with the purple petals that sat on the windowsill to her left. Her ears seemed to block out everything but the sound of her heavy heartbeat. Her nose picked up nothing but the sweet smell of the flower that seemed much too strong as it sat a few feet away from her. Watching the petals, she seemed entranced as her grey eyes refused to look away. Her heartbeat increased, pounding in her ears as her emotionless expression took in every little detail of the strange plant. The world seemed to stand still as she stared at the flower, suddenly feeling more powerful than she ever had – like she was draining the power from it. Draining the life. The edges of the petals began to turn a sorrowful brown under the pressure of her stare, slowly blackening and shrivelling. She tilted her head slightly as her brow creased and the petals tumbled in slow motion, each dry and withered as strength pumped through her body like adrenaline after a fall. A soft hissing broke through the sound barrier as the plant was sucked of life and it filled her ears like a deafening silence. The plant pot swirled in and out of focus until she was no longer in the Gryffindor common room. The cool air hit her as she stared into the darkness in front of her. Emotionlessly, she watched as a giant snake caressed her ankles before twisting itself around her and staring into her eyes with a soft and almost gentle hiss.

A crumbled piece of parchment soon smacked her in the face, violently pulling her back into the common room as her eyes snapped to the culprit who smiled sheepishly, shrugging as he ran a hand through his messy red hair.

"Are you okay? We've been talking to you for ages." Hermione asked gently as her friend squirmed under her stare.

"Fine." Nova choked, "I'm just tired. Sorry." She muttered as she glanced back to the windowsill quickly to find the now dead plant. Unable to comprehend what was happening to her, she rubbed a hand over her face and turned back to her friends who seemed to have believed her. Harry, however, stared at her sceptically after noticing the plant pot that had seemingly fascinated her a moment ago. Exhaling through her nose, Nova blinked a few times before meeting Harry's gaze – silently praying that he wouldn't call her out. "How was your lesson with Snape?"

"I don't think they're working." The boy sighed, finally looking away from the girl on his left. His friends wore identical frowns of concern as they leaned closer to him. "My scar hurts all the time, I have the same dream about the corridor every night now and I feel angry or unusually happy for no reason like…"

"Like you are picking up on his mood." Nova finished, prompting him to nod.

"Maybe it's like an illness and it will get worse before it gets better." Hermione suggested, her lips pursed. "You're just going to have to work harder."

"I am working hard!" Harry snapped loudly, causing some of the students to look over at the small group huddled by the window. "Why don't you try having someone trying to poke around in your head! It's not a bundle of laughs, you know."

Annoyance flashed over the Granger girl's face as she bit the inside of her cheek and looked to Nova for support but she had elected to remain quiet, much to Hermione's disappointment.

"Maybe it's not Harry's fault." Ron spoke, breaking the painful silence. "What if Snape is actually trying to open Harry's mind instead of close it? Make it easier for You-Know-Who."

"Doubt it." Nova muttered at the same time as Hermione told the boy to shut up whilst reminding him that any time he had suspected Severus Snape he had been wrong. "Harry is an open book. He just can't close his mind." The girl shrugged as she moved a black curl out of her face.

"Well how do you explain the increased dreams?" Ron huffed. "He just said that it's been worse since Dumbledore sent him to Snape."

Shrugging, Nova glanced up the Weasley boy before concluding ominously: "A connection works both ways."

"Could you teach me?" Harry finally spoke up, his eyes full of hope as he looked at the girl.

Nova's mind flashed with images of the snake and a young Tom as she answered with a simple: "No."

The truth was that even if she knew how to teach the boy who couldn't be taught by one of the best legilimens, she couldn't trust herself. Her natural abilities had grown stronger since her encounter with the Dark Lord and it would be foolish to think that it was completely unrelated. The simple fact that she allowed his memories and his destruction to decay her mind on a daily basis was enough to question her own sanity. She liked the power and it called to her. The young witch was drawn to darkness like a moth to a flame and when she allowed her subconscious mind to lead, it snuffed out the light and begged for her attention. When her mind had violently collided with Voldemort's, damage had been done and she suffered in silence as the snakes weaved their way around her brain, depriving it of the light that she had so desperately yearned for when she sought out the Order at the beginning of the year. Nova Malfoy may have believed that she was born on the wrong side of the impeding war but as the darkness enticed her, she considered the possibility that she had been where destiny had wanted her all along. As her eyes glanced back to the dead flower on the windowsill, she felt a knot of fear in her heart – it was in that moment, she realised that her mind had blurred the line between fiction and reality and it was in that moment that she realised, she was addicted to Tom Riddle.

"That might not be a bad idea…" Hermione started, only to be interrupted by the girl.

"I said no." Nova snapped with conviction as her face darkened before their eyes until she was nearly unrecognisable. Standing, she grabbed her things and moved to leave, only to stop when Harry rose from his seat. Her face lightened as she turned back to look at him before glancing apologetically at Hermione, who smiled in return.

* * *

"I'm losing my mind." Nova whispered through a soft sigh as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. Tears glistened into reality and teetered on the edge of her eyelids. Harry glanced over to her from beside the practice dummy that he had been duelling with in the Room of Requirement. Growing up, the girl had learned to keep her problems to herself and perhaps that may have been the reason that she held people at arms-length. The appearance of strength had always been much more important than strength alone but the youngest in the Malfoy family had always been a beacon of weakness. She had always been too weak to control the lava that bubbled within her and she had always been weaker than her brother. Swallowing her tears and building impenetrable walls was something that the young girl could never grow accustomed to and another aspect that set her apart from the rest of her family. Nova had always been different but as she suffered silently with the trauma of Tom Riddle, she mentally kicked herself for choosing to inherit the stony silence at such a lonely time. A single tear broke free from its silvery grey prison and cascaded down her cheek as Harry hovered beside her before patting her shoulder awkwardly. A choked laugh erupted from her as she wrapped her arms around him and allowed him to comfort her. "You're such a loser." She muttered as his shoulder raised and dipped with a light chuckle.

"I know how you feel." Harry whispered admittedly, sweeping one of her sleek curls away from his mouth. "Last night's dream was different to the other." He started, carefully choosing his next words as he feared that they would alienate the girl that he had grown so close to as she pulled away. Her grey eyes studied his expression as a soft frown coated her brow. "It started in the same corridor…but then I was in a room with Voldemort and another man…and then your voice woke me up again."

 _"What did she do to me?" The Dark Lord hissed as his face drew nearer to the greying old man that trembled in front of him._

 _"I, I…I d-d-don't know…sir."_

 _The cobwebbed room was suddenly illuminated in bright green as the man tumbled to the ground and Voldemort's patience disappeared into thin air._

 _"The girl has a gift." He choked, a soft hiss still prominent in his slivery tone. "When you find her, bring her to me." He ordered venomously as he turned to face the masked followers who surrounded him, waiting to bend to his every whim. His snakelike eyes were bright with an idea as it ebbed at the forefront of his scheming mind and a slick smile slithered across his face. "One way or another, the little witch will stand by my side."_

Nova looked thoughtful as the boy beside her finished and looked at her with a serious expression. "I stepped just as hard…" She muttered, turning her back to the mirror.

"What?"

"It's just something that Dumbledore said…" She mumbled, smiling softly as she sighed in the relief of knowing that perhaps her newfound pain hadn't been for nothing.

"Ron told me that you've been having trouble with your magic…your legilimency." Harry began, his voice quiet. "Why didn't you tell me?"

For the first time, Nova saw the outline of the invisible wall that she had been building around herself over the last month or so. As she looked at the sincerity in the boy's eyes, she realised that whilst she had been busy shutting him out, she had pushed Hermione away the most. "You have enough to worry about."

"Nova, I will always…"

"I am not good at this, okay?" Nova interrupted, sighing heavily. "The only reason that Ron knows about it is because I lost my temper. For fifteen years, the only people I knew were my family and our house-elves and I was taught never to show weakness." Her jaw set tightly as she paused, "I don't know how to maintain a friendship. It's easy with Fred and George because they don't expect anything from me and Ginny is easy to talk to. Hermione expects me to be smart and have solutions to the problems that she can't necessarily solve on her own, Ron expects me to be there…to have a witty answer to every joke he makes and you…" Nova bit the inside of her cheek as Harry's gaze pierced her. His lips were set in a tight line as his eyes trailed over her face, cautiously in case she should explode. "You _always_ look at me like that."

As Harry opened his mouth to respond, the remaining members of Dumbledore's Army entered. The chatter soon quietened as they came face to face with the serious expression on the Malfoy girl's face and a rather flustered Potter.

"Are mum and dad fighting again?" Fred asked, tilting his head condescendingly as he draped an arm over Nova's shoulder.

"We're not fighting." Harry defended, his soul-piercing stare remaining on the girl in front of him.

"Not again?!" Hermione scolded as she joined the group. "You left your homework in the common room so I put it on your bed." She smiled at Nova, who pulled her gaze from the boy in front of her.

"We're not fi…"

"Thank you." Nova smiled, interrupting the boy once more. The soft smile soon dropped when she realised that no matter how hard she locked the girl out, she always came back and so it was only right to make amends. "Could you help me with Astronomy later? I may or may not have insulted my brother's intelligence and have to do my own homework…"

An infectious grin broke out across Hermione's face as she nodded enthusiastically.

"How come you'll help her and not me?" Ron huffed before turning to Nova with the usual smirk that accompanied a tongue-in-cheek comment. "Why don't you get Daddy to pay the professor for you?"

"Can't. He already paid Sprout, Snape and McGonagall." Nova responded with a shrug, fighting the grin that inevitably crossed her face whenever she was with the group – even if she did find the life of a teenager rather vexing.

* * *

The Great Hall was abundant with chatter as the students prepared for their trip into Hogsmeade. Ron shovelled food into his mouth as Hermione looked at him with disgust and Nova read a letter from her mother, ignoring Ron as he joked that her mother was her only valentine.

"Nova!" George shouted down the Gryffindor table, forcing her to look up. "Are you coming with us today?"

"I would but…I don't want to." The girl answered fighting the smile that threatened to ruin her.

"Well that's just rude." The twins gasped in unison before grinning cheekily at their younger friend. "We could set you up." They added wiggling their eyebrows suggestively as Harry took his seat beside her.

Hermione gasped in embarrassment for her friend, "Nova is perfectly capable of finding a boyfriend on her own, thank you." Nova tilted her head towards the girl in agreement before telling the boys that she would spend time with them the next day.

Nova's light grey eyes rolled as Harry flattened his hair whilst he stared at his reflection in a spoon and tugged at the collar of his shirt. It was the day of his date with Cho Chang and he was sweating nerves. After a few more seconds of preening and fidgeting, Nova sighed and snatched the spoon out of his hand.

"What on earth am I going to talk to her about?" Harry asked her as she thumped the spoon down on top of her letter.

"I don't know." She responded, obviously uninterested yet the boy wouldn't give up on her.

"What if we don't have anything to talk about?"

"I don't know." Nova answered again, taking a bite out of her toast.

Ron chuckled as he glanced from Nova to Harry, "Well you had plenty to say about snogging her face off!"

Subconsciously Nova scoffed and rolled her eyes before widening them and trying to cover it up with a cough as she realised that she hadn't been subtle at all. As Harry turned to look at her with a frown, she sipped her pumpkin juice and glanced at Hermione who was holding back a smirk.

"We should go." The Granger girl offered, rescuing her friend from the explanation that she was trying to manufacture before Harry built up the courage to ask her what was wrong.

Hogsmeade was as jolly as every with wizards and witches bustling around. The shops had all been decorated for Valentine's Day with pink confetti and golden cherubs that circled around the heads of the young couples that cuddled in every corner. However, Nova's eyes refused to acknowledge the loving spirits as they were drawn to the numerous posters of her aunt and the fellow escapees. It wasn't hard to notice the lack of dementor presence and compare it to the stories that her brother had told her of the enquiry that ensued when Sirius had escaped. It also wasn't hard to notice the few who had pulled themselves away from their lovers to peer at the girl who resembled the witch that had been driven into madness by her love for the Dark Lord.

"Rita Skeeter has agreed to meet me. I think I can convince her to do the interview with Harry." Hermione muttered discreetly as she sipped at her Butterbeer.

Nova smiled as she looked at the bubbles in her glass. Hermione had informed her of her plan to publish an article in The Quibbler, telling the world of Voldemort's capabilities. "You'll have to convince him first."

"I was hoping you would…" Hermione admitted but as her friend shook her head defiantly, she added: "I'm sure he will be more than willing if it means that people will believe him. You know, you really shouldn't take your frustrations out on one another." A gentle smile broke across the girl's face as she caught the scowl that crossed Nova's brow. "You need each other because you're both terrible for trying to push Ron and I away."

"What time is your meeting?" The young Malfoy asked, already knowing the answer but stubbornly wishing to change the topic of conversation.

"Midday."

The girls had spent their morning, shopping in the usual stores and sipping Butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks but as midday drew nearer, the rain grew heavier, and Nova knew that it was time to leave. The last thing she needed was for the loose-lipped reporter to alert the wizarding world – or more specifically, her father – about her choice of companions and so she braved the torrential rain and headed back to the warmth of the Hogwarts castle.

* * *

The next morning, the Gryffindor table was buzzing with excitement as Harry received hundreds of letters from Quibbler readers that had seen the article; many stating that they now believed him about Voldemort's return alongside a number claiming that he was still out of his mind. The corridors were filled with chatter and as Nova had yet to read the article, she felt as though she was missing something.

She walked across the grounds with the twins, the cool air turning her pale cheeks a soft pink as her shoes scuffed the dew-covered grass. A deep frown sat above her dark eyebrows as a couple of her peers sent her somewhat sympathetic smiles.

"We were thinking about putting some Puking Pastels in Umbridge's tea." Fred grinned, "Or we have this new sweet that covers you in boils that spurt pus!"

"That's disgusting." Nova grimaced at the thought, before turning to look at the group of first years with narrow eyes as they glanced at her and whispered.

George noted the look on her face as the whispers passed through the courtyard. "How are you feeling?" He asked cautiously causing her frown to deepen further.

"Fine, why?"

Naturally, Fred opened his mouth to answer the younger girl's question only to be interrupted by a Ravenclaw boy. His sandy blonde hair fell over his eyes as he smiled sheepishly at the Malfoy girl: "I just wanted to let you know that none of us think that you're like your father…" He whispered before disappearing with a group of students around his age.

"What is going on with everyone today?" Nova asked shaking her head as she looked at the twins expectantly. "People have been looking at me like somebody died and…"

"You haven't read it, have you?" George asked in realisation as a very angry Draco pushed a first year out of his path as he stormed towards his sister, a copy of The Quibbler in hand.

"I hope Potter is pleased with himself." The older Malfoy sneered, face red with rage. "If I find out that you knew about this…"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Nova began before her brother cut her off as Fred and George stood either side of her like a pair of bodyguards.

Draco scoffed, his eyes narrow as he waited for whatever explanation his sister would provide. However, when she remained silent with confusion, he realised that she truly had no idea what Harry had done. "Turns out that your little boyfriend likes to tell tales." He scowled, thrusting the magazine into her hands so sharply that it cut her finger.

Sighing, Nova wiped the papercut with a scowl similar to her brother's and opened The Quibbler. The group stood in silence as she turned the pages to reach the article in question. Blinding rage radiated off of her brother as the older set of twins stood awkwardly waiting for her to reach the middle of Harry's interview. Her eyes darted from side to side as she skimmed the lines before her mouth fell open. She blinked a few times as she comprehended the words before crushing the magazine in her right hand. Her jaw clenched so hard that she thought she may break a tooth and her eyes grew hot as a feeling of betrayal bubbled in the valves of her heart.

The sheer power that six little words had to change one's perspective was amazing. Six words, twenty-five letters and a whole lot of anger. Six words that could change Nova's life, should the right people believe them. Six words that she knew to be true. Six words that despite the difference in ideals, she had longed to remain unspoken. Six words that, in the eyes of the youngest Malfoy, should never have been printed without proof. Six words uttered by the person that she had grown to trust the most and six words that would change the way that the world viewed her family – _viewed her._

 ** _Lucius Malfoy is a Death Eater._**


	13. CHAPTER 12

**_Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter world, all rights go to J.K Rowling. I do however own my original character Nova Malfoy and her background._**

* * *

Her blood boiled as she stormed into the Great Hall. Fred and George remained loyally behind her as her brother snuck off to the Slytherin table to watch her actions from a distance. The chatter of her peers fell on deaf ears as the young witch saw nothing but a red haze as her feet carried her to the Gryffindor table. Within seconds, the crumpled magazine was slammed atop of the table – in front of the raven-haired boy who jumped as the goblets of pumpkin juice leapt into the air before landing gracefully.

The table fell silent as her friends glanced at her cautiously and her glare remained on the boy. Harry squirmed under her silence as his green eyes examined the article and his expression changed from one of utter confusion to one of dawning realisation. Her breath was shaky as her body trembled with the power of a searing hot rage.

"Nova…"

"Don't. I don't want your excuses this time, I don't care for them anymore." The Malfoy girl interrupted, her voice as cold as ice and her eyes stripped of all warmth. "Save them for your friends."

"You are my friend." Harry muttered uselessly, his eyes silently pleading with the girl.

Nova laughed humourlessly as she glanced to the side, fully aware that her brother was watching her every move and required a reaction. An inferno burned deep within her as the beast threatened to expose her and her inner snake hissed for freedom. The entire hall fell silent and several professors twitched as she bellowed: "Friends don't ruin each other's lives – their families!" The sheer power of her presence was enough to send a tremor through the viewing wizards and witches as the candles flickered violently. "You may see the Malfoys as your enemies but you would do well to remember that I am one of them." Her voice once again filling the hall with the final words before she leant closer to the person that she had trusted more than anyone and lowered her tone to a deathly hiss. "And we could destroy you in the blink of an eye."

A few gasps flickered through the hall as she clicked her fingers causing every present copy of the Quibbler to explode into ash. Dumbledore watched the transaction with a passive expression as Umbridge squeaked at the end of the top table. Power flooded her system as she stormed out of the room, somehow slamming the large golden doors behind her. The pure rush of adrenaline that accompanied her magic forced an almost sickening smile to crack through her features and her now cold grey eyes shone bright with a spark of undeniable charm.

"I told you it wasn't a good idea." Hermione muttered flatly as she watched the occupants of the Great Hall forcefully peel their eyes from Harry as they whispered to one another. A scowl crossed her face as she witnessed Draco's triumphant smirk and the Slytherins cackled.

"Of all the Death Eaters, you chose to name her father? Toss pot." Ron sighed as he shook his head.

Swallowing, Harry drew circles in the pile of ash in front of him: "I didn't think."

"You never think, that's the problem." Hermione reprimanded as she gathered her things.

Fred nodded in agreement as he reached across the table and shoved a chip into his mouth. "You never get on well for very long." He sighed, sipping from Ginny's pumpkin juice. "No wonder she thinks that you'll never work as friends." He added nonchalantly.

Harry's heart sank as he looked at the twins with a frown, not unlike the ones plastered on Ron and Hermione's brows. George's glare hadn't gone unnoticed as he pushed his twin's shoulder, silently scolding him for divulging one of their friend's secrets.

"She said that?" Harry breathed, devastation written across his face like an essay on parchment.

"No." The boys answered in unison, although the damage had been done.

* * *

"Stop moping, you're annoying me." Draco ordered as they made their way to the lake to meet his friends. "The Ministry still think that Potter's a liar."

"I don't care."

"Liar." The older of the two smirked as the younger scowled. "Father wants you to write back to him. Umbridge told Fudge about your little outburst."

A small smile made its way across her scowl as she realised that her father was now fully aware of the fact that she had defended him in front of the whole school. Although slight panic festered as she considered the possibility of Umbridge alerting him about her choice of friends.

Upon arriving at the lake, Nova's eyes seem to be stuck in a permanent roll as she sat with her brother and his friends. She feigned enthusiasm as they gossiped and forced the scowl from her face as they discussed what had happened in the Great Hall. She was surrounded by more people than she had ever been but in that moment, Nova had never felt so lonely. The anger and disappointment inside of her battled against her forgiving nature. Waged a war against her instinct to seek Harry out and apologise but no matter what, she wouldn't do that.

"Nova?" A voice broke through her thoughts and the Slytherins' conversation causing the group to split and allow her to view the tall dark-haired boy. The youngest Malfoy did not need the ability to read minds to feel his anxiety and so she pulled him away from the group. "I made you a copy of my notes for the Herbology homework. I thought that with everything that's happening, you might need a little help."

"Thank you, Neville." Nova smiled kindly at the gesture.

"I think you were really brave, by the way." Neville smiled shyly, "To stand up for your family against your…against Harry. Even though…"

"Even though I know that everything he said was true?" Nova interrupted, as Neville gulped and nodded gently. A soft sigh escaped her lips as she ran a hand over the top of the parchment. "I just wish that he would have thought about how all of this would have affected me." Kicking a rock with her toe, she stared out across the lake. Her vision clouded with tears that she immediately banished. "I wish that I could go back to the day that I decided to contact Sirius and stop myself."

"Don't say that, we need you."

"Alright, clear off Longbottom!" Draco shouted as the group made their way over to his twin, sniggering.

"Oh, shut up Draco!" Nova snapped as she glared back at the group who instinctively took a step backwards, leaving their leader to face his unpredictable sister. Draco's resolve faltered for a moment but under the pressure of his peers, his signature smirk reappeared although he knew better than to challenge her.

* * *

Bright green eyes followed Nova as she made her way through the courtyard. Hermione sighed as she noted the conflicted look on Harry's face as the subject of his gaze laughed at something Goyle had said causing him to beam in pride. His breathing increased as his fist clenched and he refrained from storming over to the pair.

"Should we tell her?" Ron asked, referring to Harry's dream. "That her father used the Imperius Curse to try and get the weapon for Voldemort?"

"No." Harry sighed after a moment, watching her disappear from his line of sight. "She's happy, leave her."

Hermione's hand swiftly smacked the back of his head. "If you think that that was happy, you're a bigger idiot than we thought!"

"It's been three days, maybe she's forgiven you." Ron suggested before receiving an identical whack from Hermione.

"If you think that Nova is just going to forgive him then you're an idiot too!" The girl announced, astonished at the boys. "You are supposed to be using Occlumency, Harry. Try harder at that and forget about the nightmare."

For the week following, all the students seemed to talk about was the interview and the very public argument. Harry got two more Ds in potions because Nova hadn't been helping him and he couldn't focus, whilst every muscle in Nova's face ached from feigned happiness. In truth, she was miserable and could feel her brain rotting with every conversation she had with Draco's dim-witted friends. The common room was deathly silent as Nova composed letters to Sirius and her mother. The door to the boys' dorms creaked open, drawing her attention.

"Sorry, I…uh." He made a rather strange facial expression as he met her and awkwardly scratched the back of his head, and Nova would have laughed if she wasn't still mad. Silence smothered them as Harry sat beside the fire, the flames dancing in his lenses as Nova continued writing, stubbornly refusing to look at him. "So, um…it's been a week and your father hasn't been arrested." Harry muttered trying to break the agonising silence but automatically groaning as she looked at him with a deep frown and fury-filled eyes. "I am sorry, you know." He smiled sheepishly but it soon slid from his face as the girl turned her gaze back to the parchment in front of her. A whole minute passed before Harry fidgeted and Nova sighed with an expression of disdain as he spoke once more, rising from his seat and sitting directly in front of her. "Do you really think that we shouldn't be friends?" Nova pursed her lips as she made a mental note to murder Fred. "Can you just shout at me or something? Tell me that you hate me or that you never want to see me again, just please talk to me…" Harry begged. "Nova, I am so sorry. I know that I keep hurting you and that I make excuses and…I'm sorry." Defeatedly, Harry sighed and moved towards the door of the dormitories.

"You're still not using Occlumency." Nova finally uttered causing the boy to turn around with hopeful eyes. "Ron told me, this afternoon." She continued, turning her gaze to the hot embers as they considering dimming. "He also told me about my father."

"I told him not to."

"He doesn't keep things from me." Nova snapped, forcing Harry to recoil slightly and wince under her hardened glare.

"I keep trying to clear my mind like Snape told me to but…it's impossible." He muttered, his eyes pleading with her as he took a step closer to the old, burgundy and yellow couch that she sat on.

"Nothing's impossible. You of all people should know that." Nova retorted, stuffing her letters into the corresponding envelopes. Sighing heavily, she finally looked at the boy in front of her. "You need to try to focus on one thing, something that means a lot to you. Something that can make you feel like it's the only thing that matters and it consumes your thoughts. Like Cho or Quidditch." She offered as Harry sat beside her on the couch, a subtle frown across his face. "Concentrate on it until nothing else matters and then just let it go."

Harry studied her for a moment, "What if I can't?" He whispered across the small gap between them. "What if I can't let it go?"

"You have to." The girl responded in an equally gentle tone. The pair just looked at each other for a moment as a more comfortable silence fell over them, binding them together. The coals on the fire seemed to burn hotter as Nova felt the magnetic that pulled her towards the boy, urging her to forget her feeling of disappointment but the room soon froze as she fought it. Clearing her throat, she turned away. "You betrayed me. You…you didn't think of anything aside from the glory that you would get for exposing Voldemort and you certainly didn't think about me. You're selfish and although you try, you don't understand what I'm going through." Nova felt a weight lift as she finally spoke the words that had been building up over the week since their argument.

Harry nodded before looking down at his hands as the coals that warmed the room slowly began to fade, taking all that was light with them: "Did you mean what you said to Fred?"

Sighing softly, she chewed her bottom lip, trying to keep her words locked behind the pearly white bars and failing miserably. "You can't see past your history with my family and I can understand why but I can't change the fact that I am a Malfoy too. I can't change the fact that when you accuse my father or my brother, I feel defensive. They're my family, Harry, and I don't think I can keep going through this endless cycle of reaching their expectations and doing the right thing. I was born on a different side of this war and I thought that I could fight against it but I can't and things are always just so complicated with you! Everything always goes wrong." Pausing momentarily, she glanced at the dying fire as the last ember faded to black and her decision was made. "I can't do this." She whispered.

Instinctively Harry hugged her as if somehow it would change her mind, but his foolish hope went unanswered as the stubborn young witch pulled away and headed to the door of the girl's dormitories, leaving him with the darkness that hung over him. As her hand grazed the polished woodwork, she paused briefly at the sound of his voice:

"I don't want to lose you, Nova."

* * *

Ginny smiled the next morning as she met Nova in the common room, electing to ignore the obvious signs that she had been crying. "Are you coming to the DA meeting this week? You weren't there last week and I'm starting to miss duelling with someone who can actually parry me." She asked as they made their way to the Great Hall for breakfast. "It's patronuses and I know you can cast one already but I was hoping that you would help me…"

"If I say yes, will you stop?" Nova sighed as she turned to look at her younger friend who nodded with a knowing grin. "Fine."

As they sat down across from twins, Nova kicked Fred under the table.

"Hey! What was that for?" He questioned before examining her facial expression and taking on a look of realisation. His cheeks flushed as he grinned sheepishly, "Oh…yeah, sorry about that." As the scowl tarnished her pretty, pale face, Fred added: "Who'd have thought it, the boy who can defeat one of the most powerful wizards alive, knows nothing about girls."

"It's not about that." Nova argued in perfect synchronisation with George, earning an eye-roll from Ginny.

"So, that's why he's your favourite…" Fred pondered as the girl shrugged with a small smile.

George smiled across at his friend, also having noticed the subtle redness and the dewy look in her grey eyes but opted to distract her rather than upset her, "Hermione is still furious that we were using the first years to test our hats." He grinned.

"I was thinking about that…" Nova answered as she finished the last of her eggs and toast, pointing her fork towards the twins in emphasis. "If you can make people appear headless by wearing these hats, you could technically create another invisibility cloak."

"Why didn't we think of that? You are a genius!" The twins exclaimed in unison. Their eyes lighting up as they jumped out of their seats, muttering incoherently to each other before thanking her and running off.

"Hermione's going to skin you alive." Ginny laughed as they stood from their seats and headed towards the door. As the two friends talked about everything and anything that popped into their heads, their laughs echoed in the corridors until a commotion in the courtyard caught their attention, "What's going on over there?"

Without thinking, Nova pushed her way through the crowd, hand and hand with the redhead to ensure that she didn't lose her. Soft sobs reverberated through the stone archways as the girls came to a halt between Hermione, and Harry who glanced at Nova as her shoulder brushed his.

"No, this can't be happening!" Professor Trelawney wailed from the centre of the mass of students as she stumbled backwards into her suitcases that appeared as if they had been tossed carelessly at her feet.

"Oh? Didn't see it coming?"

The high-pitched tones of sheer delight and amusement were enough to cause the young Malfoy girl to tense as hatred seared through her and the powder pink woman stepped into view.

"You-you c-c-can't sack me. Hogwarts is my home!"

Nova's heart broke as the woman was reduced to a trembling mess, tears billowing in the rims of her glasses – leaving long red streaks against her rosy complexion. Stepping closer to Harry, she allowed Professor McGonagall to rush to comfort her friend – a stony tight-lipped expression on her face. Feeling the boy's gentle stare, the young witch slowly glanced sideways, her eyes catching his chest and then finally reaching his eyes before she cleared her throat and removed all contact, leaving a look of hopelessness on Harry's face as Hermione rolled her eyes at them and Ginny nudged Nova's arm, subtly reminding her that she was there for support.

"Something you'd like to say dear?" Umbridge asked the woman in green with a falsely sweet tone that ignited the burning pit of anger in Nova's chest.

"Oh, there are several things I would like to say!" Professor McGonagall retorted before returning to hushing the inconsolable Divination Professor.

Nova's eyes scanned the crowd, a scowl soon manifesting as she noticed the look of glee on her twin brother's face and the sniggering henchmen that appeared to sprout from his arms. The large oak doors that led into the castle swung open with a surprisingly large boom, drawing the attention of every living thing in the crowded courtyard. Slowly (and albeit a little dramatically) Dumbledore stepped through the ocean of black robes, his voice booming with an authority that only he could master: "Professor McGonagall! May I ask that you escort Sybill back inside."

Harry glanced at Nova from the corner of his eye, a soft smile appearing on her lips as the two women headed back into the castle, the smaller of the two uttering whispers of gratitude to the old wizard with the half-moon glasses.

"Professor Dumbledore, I am afraid that you do not understand the position." Dolores Umbridge giggled humourlessly, "I have an Order of Dismissal here, signed by myself and the Minister of Magic and as High Inquisitor, I have the right to inspect, place on probation or sack any member of staff as I see fit."

"I hate her." Ron mumbled from behind as Dumbledore simply smiled. "Nothing but a marshmallow on a power trip." He added earning a snicker from Nova who hadn't removed her gaze from the gladiator battle that continued in front of them.

"You are quite right, of course. As High Inquisitor, you may dismiss my teachers. You do not, however, have the authority to banish them from the grounds!" As the wizard's voice raised, almost every student shuddered slightly. "That power remains with the Headmaster."

Umbridge stared forward with a look of rather feigned conviction as she smiled: "For now."

As Dumbledore exited and the courtyard slowly drained of students, Nova couldn't help but think that they had won something today. No, it may not have been a victory worthy of reward. Nor a triumph to parry those already collected in the school's long history but it was a victory nonetheless. As long awaited as it may have been, the Headmaster had stood against the tyrant that roamed the halls of the magnificent castle and though that power may be short-lived, it had the ability to spur hope in the hearts of the brave.


	14. CHAPTER 13

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter world; all rights go to J.K Rowling. I do however own my original character Nova Malfoy and her background.**

 _Water filled her lungs as she thrashed around in its depths. Her petite arms flailed around trying to reach the surface as she felt herself sink deeper and deeper. Her vision became hazy as she screamed and cried; water burned in her lungs as her heart pounded faster and faster trying to salvage all the oxygen it could. Her head felt as though it might explode as black spots appeared in front of her eyes. Her limbs grew weary as they struggled desperately against the waves, her muscles burned as the current tossed her small body violently and salt water seared her pores. A rotten hand grabbed her ankle as she stared at it, frozen in fear and with one swift pull, she was whisked into the dark abyss of the ocean._

 _Nova tackled her blankets as she shot upright in her four-poster bed, gulping for air and frowning at the return of her old nightmare. Her hands shook as she recalled the day that had changed her life forever, the day that she had lost the ability to control herself. She sighed gently, her hand massaging her throat as it burned from a figurative loss of oxygen but her frown soon returned as she glanced to the other beds in the dormitory only to find them empty. Instinctively she hopped out of bed, her bare feet freezing as they collided with the stone floor. With her wand clutched tightly in her right hand, she made her way towards the door that led to the common room; a subtle tremor visible to the keenest of eyes. Fear clutched at her heart as the room grew darker and she was left in complete darkness._

 _"Hello?" She spoke out, her voice much more confident that she felt. "Is anyone there?" She asked, spinning around as her eyes caught sight of a shadow that appeared to run around behind her._

 _Her breaths escaped shakily as her wand grew unresponsive and slipped through her fingers, landing on the floor with a rattle. A loud hiss encased the room, ricocheting off the portraits causing them to tumble to the floor. Blood trickled from her ears as the sound grew louder and a disembodied scream erupted, tearing through the darkness. Suddenly, a hand clasped her mouth causing her to spin around with a fearful look in her eyes only to come face to face with young man. His dark eyes were almost mesmerising as they sparkled despite the lack of light in the room, his dark hair curled at the front and his jawline clenched, in the most familiar way. She knew him from somewhere. Her eyes widened as he placed a finger to his lips before pointing to the dark abyss in front of them. As she turned back, his hand slid from her face and rested on her shoulder causing her to tense. Her grey eyes flitted to the family signet ring on his finger, similar to the one that her brother wore but with a crest that she did not recognise._

 _"I don't see anything." She whispered, turning back to the boy that appeared to be a good few years older than herself. "Who are you?"_

 _"A friend." He whispered, his tone gentle and charming." Look again."_

 _Her eyes widened as she jumped backwards, her back hitting his chest as she felt her heart pound. On the floor in front of her lay a man, possibly around her father's age, that looked almost identical to the older boy who stood a mere inch behind her._

 _"We have to go." The boy rushed as he took her by the forearm, dragging back into the darkness._

 _"We have to help him!" Nova argued as she pulled herself away from the taller boy, who paused and turned to look at her wary expression. "What did you do?" She whispered, glancing back to find the body had disappeared much like her wand._

 _"He never wanted me." The boy responded coolly, confliction striking his features as he stared at her. "He abandoned my mother and forced me to live in that orphanage whilst he lived like a king!" Nova gulped as she took a step backwards, her eyes full of fear. "Don't look at me like that."_

 _"Why…Why am I here?"_

 _"Because you want to be." He answered, a serious expression across his handsome face. Nova's frown deepened as the familiar face smiled at her before hissing in the language of the snakes: "_ ** _Because I understand you and deep down, you know that you and I are the same._** _"_

A crash caused her to jump awake, the light blinding her as she sat up in her four-poster bed in the girls' dormitories. Her gaze ran over Hermione, who was muttering to herself as she picked up a large pile of textbooks, before cautiously looking to her hands and counting her fingers. She had read somewhere that in a dream, a person may have acquired extra fingers. Ten. Good.

"Are you alright?" The Granger girl asked as she turned to face her friend who had remained in an upright position, staring vacantly into space with an expression of confusion muddled with fear. "You look like you've seen a ghost." At a loss for words, Nova simply nodded before getting up and dressing quickly as Hermione waited for her. "You know…I was thinking about the interview with Rita Skeeter and I wanted to apologise. It was my idea for Harry to go through with it and I should have done something…"

"You don't need to apologise." Nova smiled as they made their way out of the dormitories. "We both thought that it was a good idea and besides, you weren't the one who named my father."

"He didn't think."

"He never thinks, that's the problem." Nova scoffed, rolling her eyes as they entered the common room.

Hermione smiled softly, "That's what I said…he is sorry, you know."

"I know. His mind practically screams it whenever I see him." Nova sighed as Ginny approached them. "Am I being too stubborn?" She asked rhetorically as Hermione looked at her passively and the redhead shrugged, "But then I can't just go back to normal until everything settles down. Draco definitely wouldn't tolerate it."

"Since when have you ever done what your brother wanted?" Ginny snorted.

Nova stumbled slightly as she bumped into someone, their arms catching her before she fell. Upon realising that it was Harry, she fiddled with her tie as she muttered an apology. Their eyes connected briefly, accidentally activating her legilimency as she heard his silent pleas for forgiveness before they were immediately replaced with the scenes of his nightmares: her father torturing an unfamiliar man. At the sight, she jumped backwards as if she had just been burned.

"I'm sorry! I…I don't know why I couldn't stop it." Nova rushed, as Harry stared at her momentarily captivated by her power. "I should go." She mumbled before rushing past him and out of the common room, ignoring Ginny's shouts for her to wait. "Smooth, Nova." She muttered to herself. "Real smooth."

* * *

Nova slid into the bench in the Herbology greenhouse electing to sit across from her brother, aware of Harry's presence directly behind her. Still mortified about the morning, she quickly rubbed her hands over her face as Professor Sprout handed out the potted plants and a set of instructions. As the class descended into groups of quiet chatter, Nova glanced up at her brother.

"Stop reading my mind." Draco muttered, feeling the internal volume of his thoughts increase as they pushed to the forefront of his mind forcing him to look up at his twin sister.

"I can't help it, you're practically shouting." The younger girl shrugged as she read the instructions in front of her. "So…you're Umbridge's spy? That is definitely not as much of a privilege as you think it is…"

"It's not a spy and I said stop it, Nova." Draco scolded, slapping his gloves on the table as he looked up at her once more.

"Then block me out." She sneered, her expression near identical to those often smeared across the elder twin's face. In that moment – no matter how brief, there was no doubt that the dark-haired girl was a Malfoy.

"You know that I can't. Stop being annoying." A triumphant smirk crossed Nova's face as her brother scowled at her before quickly changing his expression to one of disdain: "What do you think you're staring at, Potter?"

Harry bit his tongue to hold back a retort and the younger Malfoy turned in her seat to send him an apologetic smile which was gratefully received – at least she was acknowledging him now. Turning back towards her brother, her gaze wandered to the Professor: "Sprout thinks that we are both going to fail our O.W.L.S if we don't start concentrating." She laughed, gently.

Draco snorted in response: "It's a ridiculous class anyway. I thought you said you were trying to stop using Legilimency?"

"It's getting stronger so I can't ignore it anymore."

"Can you still control it?" He asked almost inaudibly, although it was caught by his twin who simply shrugged. "Have you told mother and father?" He continued, only to sigh heavily as his sister shook her head rather sheepishly. "Of course you haven't…Father worries about you a lot more than you think he does, Nova and perhaps if you spent less time rebelling you would know that. I have no idea what is going on with you at the moment, you don't seem to want to talk to me about it and you are…"

Anger was suddenly a very prominent emotion as her brother continued his lecture, his words soon becoming strangled by her heartbeat as it battered her eardrums. She knew that he was merely worried for his other half, terrified of losing the person that he had spent his life trying to protect but she couldn't help but want to scream at him for not understanding. Of course, she also knew that he couldn't understand something that she had never told him but as her pulse increased, she had forced her grey eyes shut in a feeble attempt to maintain serenity. As control slipped through her fingers like grains of sand, a hissing wrapped itself around her. It cradled her in a comforting warmth, held her as her power surged. _I understand you and deep down you know that you and I are the same._

"Nova, what are you doing? Stop it!" Draco whispered across the table as he watched her plant writhe as if it were in pain and slowly wilt. Fear struck him as his sister's hands drained the life from the greenery.

Harry's attention was caught by the Malfoy boy, causing him to turn around. His green eyes widened slightly as he witnessed the very thing that he had seen her do months ago, to the plant on the windowsill of the common room. As her brother continued hissing at her, trying to catch her attention without alerting the class, Harry observed the way her lips whispered inaudibly and recalled something that Dumbledore had told him about her ability to pull him from a nightmare. Wondering if the connection ran both ways, he reached a hand out to her and whispered a variation of the words that he heard from her every night: "Nova, open your eyes."

 _…you and I are the same._ The embrace turned cold and panic struck her; it was as if she were back as a child, drowning in the lake. As her mind flailed and her conscious tried to fight the wave of power that had taken over, she heard his voice pulling her to the surface. Draco stared at Harry, his expression not one of hatred but one of concealed fear as his sister snapped out of whatever mental prison she had been in. A terrified expression immediately contorted her face; her hands shook with unbearable tenacity as her heart hammered in her chest and panic paled her face. Professor Sprout soon neared their table causing Draco to lock away his concern and quickly swap Nova's now-dead-plant with his.

"Mister Malfoy! What did you do?" The professor demanded as Nova instinctively hid her hands on the back of her seat as if they might betray her and alert the stout woman to what had truly happened.

"Nothing, the stupid plant just shriveled and died. Just wait until my father hears that you are purposely trying to fail me!" Draco sneered in his typical fashion as Nova eyed him. She jumped briefly as she felt Harry place his hand on top of hers as they remained behind her back. Immediately, she squeezed it as if, despite the trembling, he grounded her. It was a small comfort that she hadn't realised she had been missing but it was very much needed as she contemplated the dark magic within her.

"Oh…t-there's no need for that…I will get you a new one." Sprout dismissed dealing with the older twin's numerous threats.

As the woman disappeared, Draco nodded to his sister as she smiled apologetically: "Don't look at me like that." He muttered, his cool grey eyes piercing her soul. "It wasn't your fault."

His words did nothing to sooth her as she knew deep down that her brother rarely blamed her for anything, even the time that she had pushed him down the stairs of Malfoy Manor. Sighing as her tremble reduced and Professor Sprout called the lesson to a close, she hesitantly released Harry. As she exited the greenhouse with her brother, he subtly squeezed her hand before leaving her to linger outside.

"I wanted to say thank you." Nova spoke as Harry exited the class. She chewed the inside of her lip as he walked towards her, it was clear to the boy that she was trying her hardest to hold herself together. Taking a deep breath through her nose, she quietly added: "I-I don't know what's happening to me anymore. I feel like I'm in an ever deepening pit…"

A single tear slipped down her cheek nearly unnoticed as she quickly wiped it away. Harry's eyes darted to the floor for a moment, unsure of what he could ever say that would ease her mind, ease her pain. However, the tension that had surrounded the couple was soon disbanded as Nova wrapped her arms around him, momentarily taking him by surprise but he soon returned the gesture and held her close. She sighed softly as she pulled away, feeling as though something in her life had returned to balance and regardless of her stubborn pride, she knew that she needed him more than she was willing to admit.

"Please, don't give up on me." She whispered, terrified of what she may become. "No matter how often I push you away. Don't give up."

"Never."

* * *

"You look happier."

"I made amends with Harry." Nova alerted the headmaster as she walked into his office causing him to smile. "Why are you avoiding him?" She asked, her eyes narrowed as she stared at the man in purple robes.

"I am sure that is not why you are here." Dumbledore chuckled lightly causing her to smile fondly, "What can I do for you?"

Nova pondered for a second, collecting her thoughts as she tinkered with one of the silver instruments on the wooden desk in front of her. "I had a question…When using the pensieve, if someone were to speak a different language in the memory, would you be able to understand it having never heard it before?"

"I would not think so but I am not sure…may I inquire as to why you ask?"

"I…I can understand Parseltongue." Nova spoke, avoiding eye contact as she drew circles on the arm of the chair. "Hermione woke me a few months ago, I had been whispering in Parseltongue and last night, in my dream, I heard what I believe to be Parseltongue and I understood every word." Finally stealing a glance at the older wizard, Nova shrugged. "And…there may have been a few hallucinations. They've gone now though." Dumbledore smiled over his half-moon glasses at the girl as she babbled to convince him that there was nothing wrong. "Right." She nodded whilst rising from the chair and turning to the door before halting. She knew that there was a lot more to be said but as she considered her next question, her palms began to sweat. "One more thing, Professor…when viewing a memory can the person whose memory it is interact with you?" Seeing the frown on Dumbledore's face, she sighed. "The dream last night, it was one of Tom's memories."

The silver-haired wizard rose one eyebrows at the way she had referred to the Dark Lord by his first name before answering: "I suppose it is not uncommon for our subconscious to manipulate past scenarios to show us our deepest fears." The girl hummed in response as she stroked Fawkes' beak: "There is something else that troubles you."

"My legilimency has grown stronger and there is a side of my magic that I am having trouble controlling." She answered gently, smiling fondly at the phoenix that had captivated her since the first day that she had set foot in the circular office. Her grey eyes glanced to the Professor as he waited for her to elaborate. "It's a…a darker side." She mumbled. "My mind seems to go dark and all I can hear is snakes. I lose control when that happens and I…I killed a plant." Her face contorted as she chewed the inside of her lip before recalling that it had happened before. "Twice. I've killed a plant twice…different plants. I killed one by staring at it and another by touching it. Today was an accident…I am not so sure about the first time."

"How do you stop these episodes?" Dumbledore inquired, scratching his chin.

"I don't…the first time, Ron threw something at me and today Harry spoke to me." Dumbledore nodded as he pondered the possible connection between the two students as Nova continued: "What if it happens again and I kill someone? What if – instead of a plant – I drain the life from a friend? I would rather die…" Her voice trailed into nothingness, leaving the wise old wizard at a loss for words. "I try so hard to be good but I'm not." She whispered, looking up to the ceiling as she swatted away the tears that streamed down her face. "This…this power inside of me, it's evil. No matter how hard I try to stay in the light, I always fail because it is not in my nature. I'm not like Harry or Sirius…I'm not like you."

Dumbledore remained silent as she wiped her face. The inner torment visible as her heart and the nature of her power battled one another. The old wizard noted how her eyes had the ability to entrance and her charm, if she wished, had the ability to bend another to her will and as much as he willed himself to correct her, he could not find it in himself to lie. Of course, there were the undeniable similarities between the girl and the infamous Dark Lord and with the continually growing traits of a Dark Wizard manifesting in the young girl in front of him, a sliver of fear did linger in the back of his mind.

"You are young and you have a stronger desire to remain good than anyone I have ever encountered." The headmaster finally spoke. "I cannot promise that will be enough but the power of our own will is one to be reckoned with. There are many powerful wizards in the world that have the ability to take or spare lives but it is our own will that allows us to choose the person that we wish to become."

He watched as she swallowed, her face becoming void of emotion as she nodded in comprehension before looking him in the eye: "I'm going to die aren't I…"

Dumbledore briefly paused before answering: "I hope not." As he recalled something that he was now sure, regarded the young Malfoy girl.

 _…Either must die at the hand of their equal to prevent the mindwalker from dying a martyr…_


	15. CHAPTER 14

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter world; all rights go to J.K Rowling. I do however own my original character Nova Malfoy and her background.**

 _Nova,_

 _I hope this finds you well. I received your last letter and I am glad to hear that you are doing well in most of your classes. I am proud of you. It can't be easy with everything that has been happening around you._

 _I read Harry's article. Don't worry, I made sure that he was made aware of his thoughtlessness although from what I hear, you did a very good job of that yourself!_

 _Hope to hear from you soon._

 _Love,_

 _Snuffles._

* * *

 _Snuffles,_

 _I wish I could see you. I am having a lot of trouble with my magic…my legilimency is overbearing – do you know what it is like to constantly hear everyone's deepest and darkest thoughts? I hate it._

 _I fear that I am destined to be a Dark Wizard. I have drained the life from a plant by simply staring at it and I have been having very…interactive nightmares._

 _I know that the Floo network is being monitored and so you cannot appear in the fireplace but I need a little advice. A little part of home, I guess and I definitely do not mean the manor - I miss my parents but I fear that there is a distance there that I cannot lessen. Harry and I have resolved our differences but I worry that it may not be for long, we are just too different and although I blame him, I know that it is not his fault. I have a talent for pushing people away…_

 _Do not worry about me - despite the contents of this letter, I am okay._

 _Love always,_

 _NM._

* * *

Potions first thing in the morning was something that most students would groan at but not Nova. Usually, she adored potions as it was something that came naturally to her – a gift that she had inherited from her father and one of the things that had brought them closer. However on this particular morning, Professor Snape had assigned a potion that the young witch had brewed a number of times whilst being home-schooled and so she had naturally mixed it before her peers had even reached the third step in their tatty old textbook, leaving her mind to wander into dangerous territories.

Yawning from lack of sleep, she tapped her quill incessantly against the table – occasionally pausing to correct her brother as he huffed in annoyance and swore under his breath. Her head pounded as she concentrated on ignoring the whispers of thoughts that waltzed around the classroom; a private show for her eyes only. Rubbing her temples, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath before looking up. Her eyes connected with his, filtering through his memories before she had the chance to look away.

"Miss Malfoy." Snape drawled causing the girl to wince, knowing that she had really done it this time. "With me. _Now_."

Draco sent her a questioning look as she stood from her stool beside him and followed the professor out of the dungeon classroom, rolling her eyes at Ron as he snickered. She felt like a prisoner being marched to the gallows as she traipsed behind the long black ropes that polished the floor with every step. The deathly silence was punishment enough but as they reached the large griffin that guarded the door to the office, she swallowed and prepared for the argument that would inevitably ensue.

"What can I do for you, Severus?" A voice rung out from behind the large wooden desk as the morning sunshine reflected off the golden surfaces, illuminating his beard with streams of light.

"It appears that Miss Malfoy needs a lesson in boundaries." Snape sneered as he approached the headmaster, nudging the girl forward. "As impressive as the immense power of a natural Legilimens may be, the mind should not be examined at will."

"It was an accident!" Nova protested, albeit a little too defensively causing the potions professor to narrow his dark eyes at her.

"The mind cannot simply be opened like book and read from cover to cover. It requires intent."

"No, it doesn't." She blurted without thinking before deciding that she had already put her foot in it and continued: "Sometimes it's easier than actually reading a book."

"How dare…"

"Severus, I think what Miss Malfoy means to say is that the natural ability is often an overwhelmingly hard one to control but she will try harder." Dumbledore interrupted, smiling slightly over his glasses at the girl who smiled sheepishly before nodding under the judging glare of Snape. "Nova, you are not to repeat anything that you have seen and you are to return here later for a lesson in mental restraint."

"You mean detention?"

The headmaster chuckled as the words slipped out of her mouth without a thought. "Yes, Miss Malfoy. Detention."

If looks could kill, Snape had buried her fifty feet under but she hadn't to be told to leave twice as she immediately dashed for the door. Finally releasing the breath that she had been holding when she met Fred and George and escaped to a safe distance from the angry potions professor.

* * *

"Ah, Nova." The headmaster smiled as the girl entered his office. "Come, we mustn't waste any time." He rushed, holding an arm out to her. "I don't suppose you have ever apparated before?" A frown crinkled the young witch's brow as she looked up at the older man and shook her head. "Be prepared, most people vomit the first time."

Nova hesitated before she reached forward and cautiously wrapped a small hand around the man's arm: "Where are we going, Professor?"

"In times of trouble, one needs a friendly face and I have a feeling that this excursion may lighten the mood of yourself and another."

Suddenly, Dumbledore twisted his arm away from her as the world around them grew darker. It was as if she was being pulled at from every direction and squeezed tighter than she could have ever imagined. Her eyes rolled back into her head as the pressure increased and breathing became nothing but a memory. Her ear-drums burned as an invisible force pushed them against her skull and she felt like she was being squeezed through the neck of a bottle. As they landed in the middle of the familiar kitchen, Nova wobbled to regain balance as she was met with the usually stern expression that cradled the features of an infamous auror. His false eye scanned her before a smile passed his scarred lips: "With any luck, you'll cheer him up. He's been acting like a petulant child."

Her face visibly paled as her stomach churned and her head spun with the vertigo and soon she was running to toilet that lay at the bottom of the stairs. Groaning, her throat burned as she revisited her breakfast before standing and splashing icy water across her face – allowing some colour to return. A laboured sigh parted her lips as she stared at her reflection. It was true that the young witch had felt herself disappear over the last couple of weeks. Felt her identity fade as the beasts that haunted her thoughts took control. In all honesty, as she stared into the grey eyes that she no longer recognised, she felt weak and it irked her more than anything. She was growing to be a disgrace – a witch with immense power flowing through the veins that painted her pale skin and yet she was allowing it to control her, allowing it to drown her like the water had all those years ago. Years after her accident, she still ran from water; still feared it but as she stared at her reflection in the dirty bathroom mirror, she knew that her power was not that lake and if she so much as tiptoed away from it, it would rip her apart and take everything and everyone that she held dear with her. Raising her chin, she stared at her hands, eyes watching as they trembled incessantly. It was a habit that had grown as she played in the darkness that tormented her soul alongside a constant chill that caressed her body. It appeared as if the simple of notion of stepping away from the school of witchcraft and wizardry was enough to wake her from the slumber that had held her captive and so she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The musty air of the old townhouse filled her nostrils, awakening her senses and turning on the light to banish the darkness in her mind. The room shook slightly as she fought to steal control from the demons and as she heard that glass of the mirror crack, her eyes shot open. Releasing a shaky breath, she glanced to her hands once more, a confident smirk tainting her porcelain features as she found them still. There was an undeniable darkness within the girl but if she could control it once – before she attended Hogwarts – she could do it again.

She paused as her fingertips grazed the dark wood of the kitchen door. A hushed argument caressing her ears as she silently paused in the hallway.

"You are not going to use her to get to him – I won't allow it! Harry was born into this but Nova has a choice."

"I do not think she does, Sirius. I fear her fate lies with Mr Potter's." The brash tones of Alistair Moody's voice were unmistakable to the young witch as she frowned at their topic of conversation.

"Then I will do everything in my power to protect her, including, stopping you from using her as a weapon! She is the daughter of his most loyal followers, I will not allow you to put her in anymore danger!" Her mother's cousin argued, a ferocity in his tone. "She's a child, Albus, and a scared one at that."

"She is too powerful for her own good and soon enough Voldemort will stop at nothing to take her and I am not sure that she will refuse." Professor Dumbledore added. A feeling of betrayal swept through Nova's heart as she comprehended the old wizard's words. He had said that he would protect her and yet he compared her to the very person that she had ruined her life to destroy.

"Nova is nothing like him, how dare you compare them?"

"I fear your love for the girl is blinding you, Sirius." The headmaster sighed, the softness of his tone muffled by the door. The young Malfoy witch frowned, tears welling in her eyes as she looked down at the threadbare carpet as she considered the truth in his words. It was naïve to assume that there were no similarities between her and the Dark Lord but it had warmed her heart to hear the way Sirius had defended her with such ferocious tenacity.

"Her blood is my blood. She has a good heart." Sirius argued, anger seeping through his tone as he spoke through gritted teeth. Nova swiftly blinked back her tears and locked her emotions behind a passive, nonchalant expression – much like her twin brother's. "I have heard enough."

"As have I." The young witch added with a tone that matched one often heard from her father. As she entered the room, the men turned to face her neutral expression but the headmaster already knew that the trust between them had been scarred by his words.

The man that looked more like her father than Lucius, turned around with a warm smile that reached his eyes before engulfing her in his arms. Her head rested in the crook of his neck as she basked in the familiar scent, a simple gesture that had been very much needed. Tears threatened to destroy her resolve as she clung onto him, reminding her of how much she had missed him despite the weekly letters that they had exchanged.

"So, not a fan of apparition?" Sirius smirked, his moustache quirking with the motion as he released his relative; Moody and Dumbledore excusing themselves from the room.

Nova shrugged sheepishly in response, a grin manifesting on her face as she saw the look in the man's eyes and her hand instinctively grazed the pendant that she had received from him at Christmas.

"I think we should be insulted that the Order believe us crazy enough to need emotional interventions." The man smiled as he summoned two cups of tea with a wave of his wand.

As the pair sipped on the hot tea, they spoke about everything that had been bothering them over the previous weeks; both having felt completely alone in the world and unsure of their place in the complicated plans as battle lines were drawn. Sirius smiled with pride as they talked about her schooling; something that she had never done with her mother and father, and Nova laughed when he told her of his fights with Kreacher and the trials of keeping a Hippogriff in your attic.

His expression remained understanding as Nova alerted him to her extensive list of worries and he nodded occasionally to assure her that he had not lost his interest. Humming in response as she worried what would happen to her family – should anyone find out about what she had been up to – and the horrible acts that her father had carried out under Voldemort's rule.

"You may feel like the world is on your shoulders but your family's actions are not your responsibility, Nova. Draco will be just fine, regardless of what happens – he would survive a nuclear war, the cockroach." Nova smiled, shaking her head as the man reminded her of his hatred of her brother. "If I know anything about you Malfoys, it's that you love each other. It may be the only redeeming factor for many you."

"I fear that I may lose control and hurt someone." The young girl admitted after a moment's silence, picking at her fingernail as she avoided Sirius' stare. "I can drain the life out of things by accidentally staring at it, so what could I do if I really mean it? What if I hurt somebody, like Draco or you or…" She paused for a second, glancing at the ceiling in exasperation before mumbling: "Or Harry." Sirius nodded, fighting a smirk as he suspected the weight behind her words as she finally looked at him once more. "I'm also terrified that I am going to die for this cause. This war that I so eagerly joined without a single thought about the consequences."

"You are not going to die." Sirius immediately uttered, refusing to entertain the idea- his heart heavy with the weight of the notion. "It may be true that you are more powerful than any of us know but that does not mean that we cannot help you. I will always be here to keep you right, us family disappointments have to stick together!"

As the man nudged her arm, she smiled fondly at him. A slight chuckle passed between them as Nova realised that this was exactly what she had needed. Sirius felt like home to her. He felt safe and welcoming, a warm fireplace in the darkest of winters and she was grateful to him for everything that he had done for her. In truth, the youngest Malfoy was unsure how she had survived before she had sent him a letter on a whim. She hadn't expected him to respond and she most certainly hadn't expected him to become everything that she had ever wanted from her father.

Her heart sank and Professor Dumbledore returned to the room and alerted them that it was time to go. The young girl had grown accustomed to saying goodbye to many of the people that she had bonded with over her fifteen years but that did not make this one any easier. Sighing, the duo stood – the expressions on their faces baring a striking resemblance.

"I miss you dearly." Sirius smiled sadly, placing a kiss on her forehead and smoothing her curls with his hands before resting them on her shoulders. "You and Harry are my family. When this is all over, no matter what happens, the three of us will be free and you will have nothing to worry your pretty little head about. Okay?" Staring into identical grey eyes, he waited until she nodded softly, "Good. I will always be here for you." He reminded her with a whisper, pulling her in for one last embrace before she walked to Dumbledore's outstretched arm: "I love you."

"I love you too." She smiled with a brief nod as the headmaster twisted his arm away from her. With their feet planted firmly back in the golden office at Hogwarts, a soft frown momentarily darkened her brow as she comprehended the foreign words that she doubted had ever rolled off her tongue.

Three words that she doubted had ever graced her ears.

* * *

As she entered the Room of Requirement, her mood noticeably lighter than the one that had cast a shadowy light into her eyes over the previous days, she was met with a pair of emerald green eyes that visibly brightened as they landed on her. Her smile grew as she descended the stairs and approached him, happiness evident in her expression for the first time in a while.

"Snape's furious, he might even hate me more than you right now." Nova laughed as she hopped off the last step and stood beside Harry.

"He'll get over it, it's not the first time you've accidentally seen his sordid little secrets." George reassured her, approaching the younger pair where they stood in a corner. "If Ron asks…"

"Please tell me that you got detention!" The afore mentioned redhead interrupted albeit a little too eagerly as he practically threw his best friend away from the girl whilst staring at the dark-haired witch expectantly.

"Sorry to disappoint…" She laughed causing him to swear under his breath and toss a couple of Galleons to Fred before huffing and walking away whilst muttering about losing.

"This is for being our best friend." The Weasley twin smirked, handing her a galleon for lying to his brother and helping him win the bet as she chuckled. Harry grinned at the two of them, shaking his head at their mischief but ultimately relieved that Nova was smiling again.

The Room of Requirement was soon filled with cheerful chatter as everybody finally started learning patronuses, something that they had all been eager to do since the beginning. The room was filled with tiny puffs of silver as many of the students attempted to cast a corporeal patronus but ultimately failed. Neville appeared to be having difficulty as his spell continually fizzled out, producing nothing but feeble strings of silver, despite Harry's attempts at helping him.

"Try and think of a time when you have been the happiest you have ever felt." Nova instructed, stepping up as she received a thankful smile from Harry who was being shouted on from every corner of the room.

"What's your patronus?" Neville inquired as he failed once more.

"A Bear." The young Malfoy smiled, recalling her happy memory with every ounce of concentration and watching as the tip of her wand illuminated with a brilliant white light. A chorus of gentle gasps circulated the room as a large white bear manifested in front of them causing her to glance to Harry who grinned happily. "Not the most inconspicuous of patronuses."

"I think it suits you." The Longbottom boy smiled, snatching her attention and causing her to raise an eyebrow in question. "No, really. I read somewhere that bears signify supreme strength, fearlessness and protection…they are ferocious yet gentle and I don't think that there is a creature better suited to you."

Nova chuckled at the boy's high opinion of her before encouraging him to keep trying and moving towards Ginny. The pair spoke in hushed tones as they watched the rest of the group, Nova's gaze immediately drawn to Cho as she giggled and flirted with Harry, exclaiming how pretty the patronuses were as her silver swan swam around her head. The youngest Weasley smirked at her friend's scowl but soon burst out laughing as Nova mocked: "They're _so_ pretty, Harry."

"Almost as pretty as your eyes." The twins added from behind, placing their hands under their chins as they batted their eyelids dramatically, turning Nova's scowl to a grin that brightened her eyes.

Still chuckling, Ginny concentrated once more and soon produced a brilliant silvery white horse causing her friend to grin in pride as it galloped through the room. The success soon continued as Ron produced a terrier that proceeded to run around the room, knocking Neville over in the process, Luna produced a hare and Hermione continued to produce an otter.

The Room of Requirement suddenly quaked, the lights flickered and the chandeliers shook violently causing the group to congregate in the center. As the wall in front of them shook once more before exploding inwards, Harry instinctively pulled Nova towards him, shielding her from the rubble that showered them. As the dust cleared, the pair stood up straight, staring at each other wide-eyed and breathless until their gazes were drawn to a rather smug looking Professor Umbridge who was surrounded by a small group of Slytherins. Nova's heart dropped into her stomach as she met her brother's gaze, swiftly pushing Harry away from her as if it would make a difference. As the twins stared at each other, Nova quickly picked up on Draco's disappointment as it mingled with the fear he felt for her fate. She opened her mouth as if to say something but soon closed it knowing that no amount of words was going to save her now.

* * *

Grunts of pain echoed through the Great Hall as the members of Dumbledore's Army used black quills for their detention and Professor Umbridge sat in the headmaster's chair, having successful removed Dumbledore from Hogwarts. As Nova pressed the quill to the paper, the red marks began to appear on the back of her hand. Her breathing picked up as she glanced at the letters that carved into her flesh, her mind returning to the night with her aunt Bellatrix; the excruciating pain as every nerve in her body burned, the bloodcurdling screams that ripped at her vocal cords and the white of her knuckles as she dug her fingernails into the wooden chair.

"Problem, Miss Malfoy?" Umbridge hummed in a sickly sweet tone, causing the girl to glance up from her parchment. Her hands shaking as she mumbled a 'no' in response.

Her heart hammered in her eardrums, blocking out every sound as her magic teetered on the edge. As she glanced sideways, she caught sight of Fred who was staring at her with an expression of deep concern. He wanted nothing more than to get her out of there, recalling the day that she had confided in him and George about the silvery white scars that brandished her collar. He had told her not to worry and that scars made her look tough but as he saw the way her nails dug into the palm of her hand, almost drawing blood, and the way she clenched her eyes shut, he knew that the scar ran deeper than a flesh wound. Her breathing increased despite her attempts to breathe through the painful memories; the memories of the day that changed her forever, the day that awoke the darkness in her heart. The more she tried to avoid the memories, the harder they pushed through the floodgates of her mind causing her hands to tremble violently as her desk began to shake and the candles on the walls suddenly lit with flames that quivered with unembellished aggression. Fear took hold as she worried about harming her friends, gritting her teeth as the tremor took hold of her entire being.

Just as the explosion neared, the tall doors swung open. Footsteps quickly approached and a hand clasped her shoulder, a gentle but firm force that grounded her energy, allowing the tremor to slow. As the magic slowly shrunk to a manageable level, Nova finally relaxed her fists; bloody dents where her fingernails clawed at her skin.

"If you so much as look at my daughter the wrong way again, I shall have you removed from your position at the ministry." The familiar voice beside her left a bittersweet taste in her mouth as she looked up at her father. "Do I make myself clear?" The man hissed at the newly appointed headmaster through gritted teeth, an incomprehensible fury evident across his pale complexion. Glancing at the mess of her hands, concern momentarily flashed in his eyes before he escorted his daughter out of the hall.

Nova felt numb as she blindly followed her father, surprised as she had never seen him so protective over her.

"I came to check on you as you seem to have forgotten how to write a letter." Lucius responded to her mental question regarding why he had come to the school, reminding the girl that she had not written to him in a long time. Although through the power of her legilimency, Nova had the ability to know when she was being lied to.

"Liar."

"Draco sent an urgent letter informing me that you were in trouble." The blonde man dismissed, sighing as she challenged him. "The quill cannot have brought back pleasant memories. Do you wish to return home?"

Nova shook her head as Draco frowned, "What memories?"

"Nothing." The youngest twin quickly dismissed.

"Yes, I suppose it's just _another_ thing you're keeping from me." Draco hissed with a deep scowl.

"Now, now, Draco." Their father interrupted, turning to his daughter, "Why were you with Potter? If this is a further attempt to anger me…"

"I wasn't with…him." Nova lied, unable to bring herself to refer to Harry simply by his last name with the derogatory manner in which her father and brother did. "I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Professor Umbridge made a mistake."

Lucius stared at his daughter but she was no longer the little girl that shrunk back under the pressure and instead maintained a defiant stare which did nothing but unsettle him. "Draco." He addressed his son, causing the girl to glance quickly to her brother. "Was your sister with Potter?"

"She was with Longbottom." Draco responded, imperturbably, seeking to cover for his sister without outright lying to his father.

"Longbottom?" Their father sneered, wrinkling his nose in disgust as he looked to his daughter who nodded.

"She's rubbish at Herbology and refuses to accept it, so Longbottom gives her the notes that she needs to study for the O.W.L.S." Nova's gaze remained firmly on her brother as he spoke, his cool grey eyes glanced over to her warm ones as he swallowed before continuing. "He is friends with Potter and was involved with his secret group. When Umbridge rounded them up, it must have appeared as though Nova was a part of that too."

Her heart pounded and her palms grew sweaty whilst her father comprehended the story. Draco stared at his sister, anger evident to the keenest of eyes before he refused to look at her altogether.

"It would seem you cannot stay out of trouble, Miss Malfoy. Detention twice in one day and mindless legilimency." A familiar voice drawled from behind them, causing the girl to groan internally.

"It was an accident." She immediately defended, glancing up at her father who eyed her with cold grey eyes, identical to her twin's.

"Accidents happen Severus. I suggest that in future, you are more careful with whom you open your mind to. It _could_ be the death of you." Snape narrowed his beady black eyes as he considered the veiled threat from the Death Eater before glancing to the youngest of the three as she raised an eyebrow, a subtle smirk on her face. Upon realising that the girl could ruin him, the professor swiftly nodded and disappeared down the corridor. "I must return to the Ministry. Do try not to _further_ tarnish our reputation." Lucius ordered his daughter who dropped her gaze to her feet.

As soon as their father was out of earshot, Draco's smile dropped and he turned to his younger twin with a thunderous expression: "You are officially insane! You're lucky Potter didn't rat you out when he was called into Dumbledore's office with Fudge. How many more times do you expect me to lie to father for you?" He hissed.

Nova scoffed, "You only feel the need to lie for me because you think that I am completely incapable of defending myself."

"That is not true and you know it." Her twin dismissed, staring at her with a stony expression that matched her own.

"I'm sorry. Okay?" She sighed, looking down. The young witch had never cared when scolded by her parents or grandfather but was immediately distraught at the look of disappointment on her brother's face.

"Sorry?! Nova, if you're not careful you will end up in a situation that I can't get you out of."

"It's not your job to get me out of anything!" The younger of the two bellowed, no longer caring about making a scene as frustration took over.

"Yes, it is!" Draco shouted equally as loud, a hint of red brandishing his pale face causing the dark-haired girl to shrink backwards slightly before he lowered his tone. "You are too impulsive and you never think about anything before you do it. You have never faced the consequences of your actions because you've always been protected by our family but this? This is a completely different level, even for you." He looked furious as his eyes pierced hers before he huffed at her silence. Feeling uncomfortable under his scrutinising stare, Nova shamefully dropped her gaze to her feet once more. "You are playing a very dangerous game and I don't want to be there to receive an owl telling me that you have gotten yourself killed!"

Shaking his head, he turned his back on her and stormed out of sight, terrified of looking back and witnessing the distraught look that he had placed on his twin's face. Too proud to follow him and beg for forgiveness and too stubborn to give in, Nova ran a hand over her distressed expression to catch the tears that threatened to spill. Her breathing increased as she bit the inside of her lip, anger boiling in her veins. A frustrated yell escaped her causing the flickering flames of the candelabras to soar to the ceiling like a phoenix from ashes, before extinguishing and leaving her with nothing but a thick blanket of smoke in an ever-darkening room. In a world of uncertainties, she had burned her lifeline and awoken her deepest fear:

She had lost her brother.


	16. CHAPTER 15

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter world; all rights go to J.K Rowling. I do however own my original character Nova Malfoy and her background.**

"Bloody hell." Ron huffed, slamming his Charms textbook shut and snapping Nova out of her daydream as she stared at him with an eyebrow raised. "All morning I've been handing you reasons to mock me and you've just hummed at them. You must be the only person alive that wouldn't throw a party because they're being ignored by Malfoy."

"Shut up." Nova scowled lightly before sighing loudly, "How long do you expect me to stay here with you? Unless you have a spell that will allow you to swap your brain with that of a newt, you aren't going to pass your O. anyway."

"Pathetic…you are miserable." Ron assessed, grinning as she stared at him with a deadpanned expression. "But I guess it's the thought that counts." He shrugged dodging her crumpled up attempt at Charms homework as it was launched towards his face.

After being hushed by Madam Pince for the third time, Ron went back to studying and Nova returned to twirling her quill absentmindedly. Her mind pondered the various situations that might occur should she lose control in school once more, with Dumbledore on the run from the Ministry and her brother actively avoiding her, it was a worry that had planted itself at the forefront of her subconscious and continued to grow with every new rule that the new headmistress had put into place. As the redhead in front of her muttered about their exams, she considered the very real possibility of having to return home. Her face visibly paled at the very thought of returning to the manor and her pulse raced as she realised the house guests that she would be forced to co-exist with. As she entertained the idea, she inevitably concluded that she would rather die and it did not take a genius to know that should her twin value his loyalty to his father, over his loyalty to her, a few of her father's "friends" would quite happily arrange it. The collar of her shirt had suddenly felt as if it had shrunk a few inches, depriving her of air as Hermione and Harry joined them in the quiet corner at the back of the library.

Hermione glanced over her shoulder at the near empty parchment as she sat down beside the dark-haired girl, before she leaned across her and turned to the relevant chapter in the textbook. Nova pulled at her tie as if it were strangling her as her face remained the sickly pale colour that often donned her brother's expression.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked, a frown of concern as she finally took a deep breath and snapped her gaze to him.

"You look like you've seen a ghost." Hermione added, concern etching across her brow.

"Or thought about one…" The girl mumbled in response before looking at each of the people who sat around them. "I'm worried. With Umbridge as headmistress, I can't afford to have any…accidents."

As the trio nodded in understanding, Hermione suddenly sat up straight as if she had just remembered something of the utmost importance before delving into a story about how Ernie Macmillan had overheard that the gargoyle outside of Dumbledore's office had refused Umbridge entry and so she had to remain in her old office: "I expect she really fancied herself sitting up there, above all of the other teachers. "The witch grinned, "The stupid puffed-up, power crazy old…"

"Do you really want to finish that sentence, Granger?" A smug voice sang out from behind them, "Afraid I'm going to have to dock a few points from Gryffindor." Nova refrained from rolling her eyes as her brother jeered at her friend. Keeping her gaze firmly on the textbook, she ignored him, much to his disdain.

Ron frowned at the boy before stating: "You can't dock points."

"Members of the Inquisitorial Squad – a select group of students who are supportive of the ministry of magic and handpicked by Professor Umbridge can, Weasel King." Draco responded tauntingly, "So I will have five points from you, Granger, for being rude about our new headmistress. Five from you, Weaselbee, your shirt is untucked and Potter, ten from you because I don't like you and well…obvious reasons." The boy sneered glancing at his twin who could feel his icy stare on her back yet refused to give him the satisfaction of a reaction. "Oh…I almost forgot, you're a Mudblood, Granger, I had better take another ten."

As Ron took out his wand, Nova's quill snapped in her fist as she slammed it on the table before abruptly jumping to her feet: "Leave them alone." She warned through gritted teeth as she protectively positioned herself in front of the trio.

Draco smirked, having finally caught her attention. Glancing quickly to his followers, he shook his head and willed himself to give them a good show, regardless of the damage he was about to do: "Well I can't say that I am entirely surprised. You always were a filthy little blood traitor."

Instinctively, her hand flew to her collar; cold fingertips grazing the woolen sweater as it lay atop the branding. Glancing down to hide the look of betrayal on her face, she felt an odd rush of an emotion that she could not decipher. It was a feeling that she had never dealt with before, never acknowledged but as it slithered through the locks on the doors that maintained her monsters, a switch was flipped. Slowly, she lifted her head to face someone who, in that moment, was nothing to her but a tormentor – another person who would quash her, if given the chance. As she met the eyes that often resembled her own, she no longer looked like the sweet, innocent girl that had needed the protection of her brother. She looked like the dark edge of a cliff on a stormy night; her doll-like features the tide that reeled in wayward ships, her eyes the rocks that shred the hope for survival as her victims sunk into the dark abyss of the ocean. Draco's expression soon changed from triumph to panic as he reached for his green and black tie. His eyes widened as his twin sister stared into his soul, smirking slightly as he fell to the floor, gasping for air. Lifting her chin, the darkness in her mind toyed with the light, reveling in the sight as the boy, who had so easily discarded her, turned purple and writhed in pain. Harry watched, frozen, as the colour in her eyes appeared to fight one another, continually shifting from their usual warm light grey to a blackened grey. Her jaw tensed and the room temperature dropped, raising the hairs on the back of his neck as he tried to reach out to her, only to find himself fossilised to the spot in which he stood. A strange, dark power surged through her veins, awakening every cell in her body. She felt alive, until suddenly the light seemed to fight back. As her brother choked out her name, her face changed back to the one that he had grown up with and a flicker of fear flashed across her eyes before it was quickly locked away in true Malfoy manner. Exhibiting restraint, she allowed Draco's lungs to inhale in desperation before she offered him a hand. Hesitantly, the boy took it in his larger one, allowing her to pull him to his feet only to wince as she twisted it and pulled him close to her:

"Don't cross me, Draco…" she hissed, her tone low and twisted with darkness. "For I may be as quick to drop my restraint as you were to discard me." He stared at her as she released him and she needn't have used her legilimency to witness his distress. "Now why don't you slither on out of here and pick on someone else."

Straightening his tie to maintain composure, Draco glanced at his goons before turning back to sister. "You won't be so smug when father hears about this." He threatened, only to storm off when she responded with a smirk identical to his previous one and tilted her head challengingly as she told him to run off and tell Daddy.

"I don't know if I should be bloody impressed or downright terrified of you right now." Ron breathed the words that he knew she would hear anyway as Hermione stared at her, her mouth gaping. His words went unacknowledged however, as Nova roughly bit the inside of her lip and stared out the doorway in which her brother had just disappeared.

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes trying with each ounce of her remaining energy to switch off her legilimency as her friends' thoughts regarding her screamed and battered off the walls of her skull, reminding her that she was becoming the very thing that many in the wizarding world had feared. The very thing that Muggles used to torment their naughty children. Finding a sliver of courage, she turned around – the pain evident in her eyes as she looked only to Harry as if he were the only opinion that mattered. Hermione may not have been able to find the words to vocalise her feelings yet her thoughts echoed in Nova's head, a curse that she could never rid herself of as her heart cracked with every unspoken word that left the Granger girl's mind. Irrespective of the earsplitting thoughts that drowned her senses, she focused solely on the emerald eyes in front of her, silently pleading with him. Her nostrils flared slightly as she exhaled sharply, her heart hammering in her chest and her palms grew sweaty whilst he stared at her. Finally accepting her fate, Nova glanced down with a silent sigh before nodding solemnly and collecting her stuff. Turning on her heel, she blinked back the tears that threatened her and tried to hide the nauseating feeling of loneliness that began to tighten itself around her throat.

Suddenly a hand grabbed her arm, halting her in her tracks as the culprit stepped towards her and took the textbooks from her arms. The remaining two of the trio stared at their friend's actions, unsure whether they could so easily disregard the darkness that they had witnessed from the newest member of their group. Hermione stared at her friend, a look of betrayal on her face as she realised just how much the pair in front of her had been hiding. It did not take a genius to figure out that there were secrets between them but as Harry jumped to Nova's side, the bright witch knew that there was a divide in the group.

Ignoring the inquisitive look from Hermione as she picked up the pieces of the puzzle that had been unravelling around them, the raven-haired boy offered the Malfoy girl a tight-lipped smile as he stepped to stand by her side, cradling her textbooks; it was a smile with a hint of pity but for once, she did not mind in the slightest as his eyes spoke a pact of loyalty and understanding. As Harry's empty hand reached down to grasp hers, she met his gaze and smiled gratefully before their attentions were drawn to the Weasley boy who had cleared his throat, loudly.

"Don't stare at him too long, you might kill him." He muttered with a serious expression that prompted Harry to hold her hand tighter and step forward to intervene, before a cheeky grin spread across his face: "Do you think you could do that with Umbridge?"

* * *

It was the beginning of the Easter holidays and things had been rather tense within the group. Aside from the stress of exams, things had been strained between Hermione and Nova as the girls had yet to find a way to deal with their situation after the incident in the library. Unlike Ron, Hermione hadn't been as quick to accept that everything was fine with her friend and that, alongside the fact that Nova had accidentally heard her every thought regarding the matter, had made for an uncomfortable few days with very few words passing between the pair and so the youngest Malfoy had elected to spend much of her time with the Weasley twins, who were arguably two of her closest friends.

The sun almost burned her pale skin as she sat by the lake with her nose stuck in her copy of Defensive Magical Theory. She knew that she ought to have been in the library with the rest of the fifth years but as her situation did nothing but heighten her stress levels, she opted for better company.

"Is Malfoy still sulking with you?" George asked as he plonked himself down beside her, leaning his back against the tree.

"Course he is!" Fred responded for her, skimming another stone across the water of the lake. "Don't worry about it, we fall out all the time."

"No, you don't." Nova snorted as she glanced up from her textbook.

"Yes, we do!" The twins argued in unison with identical expressions of defiance. "If we tell you something, do you promise not to tell?" Nodding, she closed her book and sat up straighter against the tree, her shoulder brushing with George's as Fred sat in front of them. "We're thinking about leaving school."

Raising her eyebrows, she looked at each of the twins before concluding that they were being serious and motioning for them to continue. She supposed that she shouldn't have been surprised as they stated that they were finally going to start their joke shop. They had never shown much interest in education and after she had gifted them the rundown shop in Diagon Alley and they had used the money that Harry had given them to repair it and buy supplies, it was only a matter of time.

"I'm really pleased for you!" Nova smiled as Fred offered her a hand, pulling her up as they decided to head back to the common room. "Although you better not forget about me when you are successful businessmen."

"Never!" The taller boys grinned, nudging her playfully as she walked between them.

Entering the common room, Nova headed towards the trio who sat at the table by the windowsill. Dumping her textbook beside Harry, who jumped slightly before looking up at her with a grin, Nova slid into the empty seat beside him. After a number of silent minutes, Hermione finally gave into the stubborn girl as her resolve shattered:

"Where have you been all day?" She snapped turning to face the Malfoy girl. Nova's brow rose to her hairline at the unexpected outburst. "How can you expect to pass your O.W.L.s when you aren't committed?" As the darker haired girl turned to the boys for help, Ron simply shrugged and sniggered. "And I'm not an idiot, Nova. I know that you and Harry are keeping things from Ron and I." Hermione continued to rant, her face pink as she unleashed everything that she had been bottling up whilst staring at her friend who glanced at Harry out the corner of her eye. "You don't trust me and I'm not sure why, I haven't given you a reason not to."

"I do trust you, Hermione, it's just that there are some things that I don't want to talk about and I am not going to apologise for it. So, if that's what you're waiting for then you are wasting your time." Nova snapped, her grey eyes filled with conviction and warning the girl not to argue with her. "And I was studying!" The girl defended before her friend raised an eyebrow at her, "Kind of…"

Hermione surveyed the girl for a moment before turning to Harry: "So why don't you have Occlumency lessons anymore?"

"I told you, this morning." Harry groaned, wishing that he could master the look that Nova had just used to silence her, "Snape reckons I can carry on myself now that I've got the basics." He reiterated, trying with all his will to avoid the gaze of the girl beside him as she fought back a frown, her abilities allowing her to see straight through his feeble lie.

"I don't think that Snape should stop until you are absolutely sure that you can control the dreams…You should go back and ask…"

"Just drop it, Hermione!" Harry, rather forcefully, interrupted as Nova felt a pang of guilt for also snapping at the girl who only had their best interests at heart.

"What's that?" Nova asked, trying to diffuse the tension between them as she pointed at the charts on the table in front of the witch.

Smiling, Hermione handed one to each of her friends and explained as they studied the information provided: "I made you personalised study timetables. It's six weeks until the O.W.L.S so follow the timetable and you should all do fine." She smiled as the group muttered thanks. "I've given you less time with Potions because you don't need it and some extra time on Herbology, Nova. I suggest you take Neville's offer of help and learn to do it yourself." She added causing Ron to burst out laughing and Harry to fight a grin as Nova's jaw physically dropped with speechlessness before the Granger girl smiled sheepishly. "Sorry."

"I don't fancy Healing." Ron spoke as he flicked through the careers leaflet that donned the St. Mungo's bone-and-wand emblem. "They need at least an "E" at NEWT level in Potions, Herbology, Transfiguration, Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts." He continued before grinning, "You could do that, Nova. If you learn pass Herbology on your own."

Hermione laughed as she watched Nova wordlessly enchant one of the leaflets into the shape of a bird before allowing it to attack the boy in front of her. As Ron swatted the leaflet, his arms flying around his head like a madman, Ginny arrived at the table to deliver Easter eggs from their mother. There was one for each of them and it had amazed Nova how much it had meant to her. For many, the yearly gesture was something to be expected, something that meant very little in the grand scheme of things but to the young witch, it signified so much more. As she cradled the chocolate egg, she was reminded that she had a family that had accepted her for the very flaws that hers had scolded her for. A family that held their arms wide open. A family that, should her entire world collapse under the weight of her decisions, would welcome her home.

The Malfoy definition of family had always meant entitlement and superiority and although there was an undeniable loyalty that manifested from love, it had never meant warmth or affection. It had never meant dinners filled with laughter and funny stories about your day. It wasn't until Nova had truly enjoyed the company of the Weasleys that she realised those were things that she had been missing. That her happy childhood memories were not all that happy in comparison to those created by her friends.

* * *

"You lied about your Occlumency lessons." A voice rang out from behind him after the common room had emptied for the night.

"Yeah and you tortured your brother for the fun of it." Harry retorted, spinning around to face the girl who simply raised both her eyebrows at him. The look on her face immediately brewing regret in the pit of his stomach: "Sorry."

"I'm hearing that a lot today." Nova muttered as she ran her hands over her face, a yawn escaping her. "I'm starting to realise how Hermione has been feeling. We need to stop taking our frustrations out on her." She sighed, sitting down beside him on the sofa, still feeling guilty about the last couple of days, "And I should probably refrain from trying to murder my brother…"

Harry chuckled lightly as she smiled, the flickering light of the fire dancing in her eyes. "What's wrong with us?" He asked, somewhat rhetorically. "We keep pushing people away."

"You have a dark wizard inside of your head who is determined to kill you and everyone is waiting for me to shatter into pieces and join him." Nova shrugged nonchalantly although it was clear that she cared a lot more than she was willing to admit. "I don't know about you, but I find it easier to push people away than explain what's wrong with me. Dumbledore told Sirius that his love for me was blinding him as he refused to see how dark my magic can be." She told him, recalling the argument that her mother's cousin had had with the old headmaster as she picked at her fingernails, anxiously. "Everyone is giving up on me like my path is already set. Like I can't be saved."

Nodding slowly in understanding as she looked back into the flames, Harry reached forward and intertwined their fingers, brushing his thumb over her knuckles. It was a small gesture but it united them nonetheless. "Your brother interrupted my lesson with Snape." He began quietly, prompting Nova to turn her grey gaze from the dancing flames to him. "When they left the room, I used the pensieve to watch Snape's memory. It was about my dad…and Sirius." There was a flicker of guilt and pain in his emerald eyes as he looked at her. Running her thumb over his, she nodded for him to continue: "They were horrible to him. My dad attacked him for no good reason, dangling him upside down in front of the whole school."

"And that's why you were upset earlier?" Nova asked, watching as he sighed and nodded, "Well, I'm not surprised that Snape hates your father but what you saw was only a fraction of what had happened and it was only Snape's side of the story." She tried to reassure, "Everyone always speaks so highly of your mother and if your father was always like that, I'm sure she wouldn't have married him." Moving closer to him, she rested her head on his shoulder. "I wouldn't worry about it. Snape may only be able to see the negative traits that you inherited but there are plenty of people that see the good in you."

Harry smiled in response, his stomach flipping slightly as he glanced down at her whilst she played with her fingers that cradled his. "Dumbledore is wrong." He stated, causing her to lift her head and look at him with a questioning frown. "He might say that I'm blinded too but I don't see evil when I look at you and I don't think I ever could."

Truthfully, Harry had never been more honest, for when he thought of Nova Malfoy, he did not think of her destructive nature or her fiery temper, nor the way she disappeared into the confines of her mind only to resurface in the wake of her obliteration. He did not think about the similarities that she held with the Dark Lord. He thought of her understanding nature, the kindness that she showed him and the calming affect she had. He did not think of a possible enemy, he thought of his friend; the voice that pulled him from his incessant nightmares and one of the bravest people that he knew. He did not think of her as a Malfoy, he thought of her as a Black. When he looked at her, he did not see evil; he saw loyalty. He saw the girl that he grown to depend on, regardless of her potential.

And at a time when she was losing more than she won, that was all that mattered to her.


	17. CHAPTER 16

**_Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter world; all rights go to J.K Rowling. I do however own my original character Nova Malfoy and her background._**

"What are you doing?" A voice snapped her back to reality as she nervously picked at her fingertips, considering one hundred and one possible scenarios that would result in her doing something as mundane as cleaning Fred and George's joke shop for the rest of her life.

Glancing up, she met her twin's perplexed stare – his face appearing darker as he stood over her with his arms crossed, impatiently awaiting an answer. She hadn't spoken to him for at least a week which had only added to the stress which tormented her waking hours and kept her from slumber: "If I don't go in there, I fail because I didn't try." She muttered, picking at her nails – a nervous habit that her mother had often scolded her for. "Not because I can't do it."

"What are you talking about?" Draco asked, scrunching his nose up.

"My O.W.L.s!" The young witch exclaimed, "These exams shape my entire future, they are not the same as the tests I did at home. Father gave me a second chance if I performed terribly…I've been distracted all year and – what if I go in there and my best isn't good enough?"

Sighing roughly through his nose, the older Malfoy glanced around the corridor to check that nobody could see them before sliding down the wall to sit by his twin sister's side. "Your best will always be good enough. So, what if you are the only person in our year that can't master the watering of a plant and in Divination you are about as insightful as that oaf, Hagrid?"

"Not helping."

Smiling slightly at her comment, he turned to look at her: "My point is, you are a Malfoy and we always come out on top. You are ready for this because father taught you the charms, do you remember?"

 _"_ _You are not concentrating."_

 _"_ _Yes, I am. I just can't do it!" A thirteen-year-old Nova shot back, her face flushed with frustration as she glared at the house-elf whose tunic refused to change colour under her will._

 _"_ _It seems my faith has been misplaced." Lucius spoke coldly, a look of disappointment in his icy stare – a look that the young girl often believed had been created for her, alone. "Perhaps you are not as exceptional as I had thought. Finish your reading, I have more important things to attend to."_

 _As her father turned his back on her, anger bubbled in the pit of her stomach. As the feeling grew, the room began to quake until an almighty roar escaped her and released the energy: "Colovaria!"_

 _Lucius spun around, his cool grey eyes staring at the wide-eyed and albeit shocked expression on his daughter's face and the somewhat relieved expression of his servant. His nostrils flared slightly as he looked down at the cloak he was wearing – the usual black replaced by a vibrant red: "That was my favourite cloak." He spoke slowly, his tone monotonous. A ghost of a smile twitched at the corner of his thin lips as he met the massive grin that spread across her face. Nodding curtly, he added: "Well done." Before leaving her alone in the room._

Nova grinned widely as she recalled jumping up in glee and almost squealing in delight after finally casting the spell required for the O.W.L.s. The memory had been planted in her mind as the first time her father had shown a sliver of pride toward her – a memory that warmed her heart when she thought of him and had allowed her to cast her first Patronus. Regardless of the continual complications that thwarted their relationship, they loved each other as much as they relentless pride would allow.

"I remember spending hours trying to cast it and nearly setting fire to the house elf." The younger twin finally uttered, pessimism controlling her.

"But you did it. Father taught you as much as possible to help you control your magic, you are ready for the O. ." Draco reiterated, eyes piercing his stubborn sister. "So, stand up and go in there and pass that exam before you are too late because you will do nothing but complain if you don't at least try." He ordered, standing up and holding a hand out to her. "Forget about everything else that has happened and be a Malfoy."

Stumbling back slightly as she surprised him with a hug, Draco squinted over Nova's shoulder to check that no one could see him before quickly returning the gesture and stepping away: "I'm sorry…" She mumbled, "For everything. I promise that I will tell you anything you want to know after this exam…if you give me the chance."

"I know." The blonde boy nodded, watching as she echoed the action before turning to enter the Great Hall for her Charms examination. "Nova!" He called after her, prompting her to spin around with a questioning look. Pulling out a quill, he handed it to her. "I knew you'd forget yours. You always do."

Smiling in embarrassment as her brother smirked, Nova took the quill out of his pale hands and turned back towards the Great Hall. As she was joined by Seamus and Dean, she took a deep breath and pushed open the heavy wooden door.

"Be a Malfoy." She muttered to herself, trying her hardest not to look as petrified as she felt as the quill quivered in her nervous hands. "You can do this."

After successfully completing each aspect of her practical Charms examination, Nova's grey eyes scanned the written paper. She would never admit it but the pep-talk from her brother and the simple knowledge that they were returning to their original path was enough to restore her faith in her abilities. The dark feathered quill that Draco had received from their grandfather, scratched her answers into the parchment as Professor Umbridge stood at the front of the great hall. The room was silent aside from the student breathing heavily behind her, the tiny splatter of droplets of ink as they fell from the tip of the quills and back into the bottle, and the turning of pages as the students rushed to explain the counter-charm for hiccoughs or the perfect conduction of the levitation charm.

Suddenly a high-pitched squeal shot through the door followed by an explosion of red and gold. Fireworks soon filled the hall as the exam papers were sent into a whirlwind. Nova grinned as she spotted the Weasley twins on their brooms, wreaking havoc in the hallway. The students soon abandoned their tables to cheer for the renegades as they tossed flashbangs to the floor.

"We won't be seeing you!" Fred hollered from his broomstick, grinning at the new headmaster as she stood with her hands on her hips; her face pinker than her suit.

"Yeah, don't bother keeping in touch!" George added with an identical grin of bemusement – winking at Nova as he caught her amused expression.

"If anyone fancies buying a Portable Swamp, as demonstrated upstairs, come to number ninety-three, Diagon Alley – Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes!"

"Special discounts for all Hogwarts students who swear they're going to use our products to get rid of this old bat!" As George pointed to Umbridge, the woman squeaked before screaming to Filch to stop them.

With a salute, the twins sped off into the afternoon skies to the melody of the triumphant and thunderous applause of their fellow students and Nova was convinced that she had seen several professors in the crowd, with grins bigger than she could ever imagine crossing their weary faces. Fred and George Weasley had escaped the tyranny.

* * *

"I don't blame you for everything." Her brother eventually spoke, staring out towards the Forbidden Forest after they endured a painfully silent walk of the grounds once the castle had calmed down from the Weasley twins' escape. "Our rule has always been "don't ask, don't tell" and I haven't asked…not properly."

"I didn't _want_ to hurt you." Nova sighed, her voice barely a whisper. "I would do anything to protect you so I kept things to myself but…I hurt you anyway and I'm sorry."

"I provoked you." The taller twin dismissed. "I wanted a reaction."

"Well, you got one." The brunette laughed lightly, causing her brother to smirk slightly despite the consequences. "One question?"

"One question." Draco nodded in confirmation, glancing at the childlike innocence on her face as they recalled the rules they had made in their childhood. "What happened to you? Valentine's weekend. You were supposed to meet me in Hogsmeade and you didn't."

Nova's heart dropped as she realised the answer that he was searching for. "I thought you would ask about Harry."

"Don't get me started on Potter." He sneered, his nose wrinkled in disgust. "Answer the question."

As she finished talking, her eyes dropped to the floor. Fully aware of the fact that her brother could not bring himself to look at her as he comprehended what she had just told him. The expression on his face as she loosened her tie and pulled down her collar would forever haunt her; the way his eyes slammed shut and he turned his head away from her. His face still held that sordid expression as his nostrils flared ever-so-slightly and his jaw clenched in rage – a trait that he shared with his twin.

"You have to tell father." The boy choked out, his eyelids locking back the hot tears of fury and hurt that threatened to destroy his resolve.

"He knows."

His eyes flew open as he spun back to face his sister, praying that he had misheard her whisper: "What?"

"Mother and Father know and they did nothing but write a measly letter of condolence." Nova expanded, her voice cold and her face darkening. Draco stared at her in disbelief. " _She_ boasted about it. She _laughed_ and mother still welcomed her back - even defended her against father! He was furious to say the least, but what difference does that make if he doesn't have the courage to stand up to _him_." Her brother watched as she paced back and forth is frustration. "He's a coward and no number of apologies is going to fix that. He thinks that if he swoops in and saves me from detention or turns a blind eye to me, it will make up for everything but it won't, Draco. Our parents brought us up to think that we are superior because of our blood status and our wealth but they are nothing but cowards who blindly follow."

"Nova..." Draco uttered, his tone warning as the ground beneath their feet erupted with a slight tremor that only grew more violent with her anger.

"No! Don't tell me that I'm wrong or that I should be careful. I am _always_ punished for following a different path or for standing up for what's right instead of doing what's easy but I would rather _die_ than watch the suffering that occurs at their hands." The stone beneath her feet cracked as if a boulder had been thrown from a height. Jumping at the loud noise as she wobbled under the shifting of the earth beneath her, Nova turned back to her brother; her face pink. The earthquake created by her emotion suddenly eased as she sighed slightly: "I love mother and father, I do but…"

Draco nodded, he understood what she was trying to say but was having a hard time comprehending it. "Aunt Bellatrix…did she…is this because of Potter?" He asked his grey eyes studying her as if trying to catch a lie. "Because I swear I will kill him!" He hissed, a hint of Gryffindor red brandishing his pale skin. Nova paused, adverting her gaze from her brother's scrutiny as she contemplated her answer. "I meant what I said before. You are wandering down a path that our family cannot protect you from. I don't know if I should tell father so that he can stop you or…"

"Please don't!" Her words came out rushed as she snapped her gaze back to him, her eyes widened with a fear that he had never seen before. "I know that I am going against everything that we have ever been taught but I…I can't go back now."

The conflicted look on Draco's face caused her heart to clench as he ran his hands over his face, pacing slightly: "I don't know what you want from me, Nova." He groaned helplessly. "Tell me what to do."

"Just forgive me." She answered, her voice smaller than ever. "I made this mess and I will deal with the consequences…just don't ask me anything that results in an answer that would get you into trouble too. You're safer if you stay out of it... _He_ might try to read your mind." Her eyes were solemn as she waited for him to nod in agreement. The moment had been bittersweet as she finally found the courage to tell her brother everything that had been tormenting her but was now faced with the dreadful fear of his fate.

The youngest Malfoy had never really considered her own mortality more than she did in her present situation but as she opened up to her brother, she realised that it had not been due to naivety nor the lack of need to consider the ticking clock. She realised as the fear daggered at her heart that she had never considered the length of her own life because when it came down to the wire, she would risk it all for her twin and she truly believed that one day in the not-so-distant future, she would be required to.

* * *

A groan escaped her as she arrived back in the common room to find Neville with a pile of books and a grin on his face. It wasn't even nine in the morning and the young girl had already been woken up by an overly eager and study-orientated Hermione who had all but kicked her out of bed before dragging her to the library. _"We want to get the good books before they are taken!"_ The girl had said as she dodged a pillow that had been launched towards her amidst a string of curses that she had never considered a part of the Malfoy girl's vocabulary. However, after ultimately losing the battle against her intelligent friend, the young Malfoy had spent the early morning scouring over the indexes of an uncountable number of dusty books that resided in the Hogwarts Library. Thus resulting in the rather unamused expression that coated her pale face as she sat across from the Longbottom boy at a tiny table beside the window of the Gryffindor common room.

"Well, why can't I use a spell to stun it _before_ I rip its teeth out?" Nova finally sighed as the wizard across from her explained the proper way to remove the fangs from a Fanged Geranium. "It can't bite me if it can't move. Why can't I petrify it?"

Neville paused, a slight frown creasing his brow as he looked at her, "Well…I…well, I suppose you could." He stammered. There was nothing in the rules that said that she _couldn't_ use a charm but the conscientious student considered it wrong. "I mean…isn't it cheating?"

"Does it matter? They want the fangs so they will get them." The girl shrugged, blowing an unruly black curl out of her face. "I don't see why it should matter how I do it."

"But…" The boy began to argue, determined to show her the importance of following rules but as she piqued an eyebrow at him, he resigned. "Just don't kill it." He sighed: "I don't think Gryffindor can survive if you have any _more_ points docked by Professor Sprout."

Nova nodded, a lightness to her expression before she was overcome with another yawn. Running a hand through her hair with a heavy sigh, she looked down at the large pile of Herbology books in front of them: "I don't suppose it matters…If I can't pass the theory then the practical won't save me."

"Don't think like that! You know more than you realise." Neville smiled, encouragingly as she raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "If there's anything that you share with your brother, it's confidence so don't doubt yourself now."

A huge grin spread across her face despite her foul mood: "Thanks, Neville."

"Don't worry about it."

Minutes turned into hours as the friends concentrated on getting the Malfoy witch through her Herbology O.W.L. with a reasonable pass. Her grey eyes burned from fatigue from staring at the inked lettering and her hand ached from copying the boy's intricate diagrams in an attempt to remember them. The common room had filled up considerably over the course of the afternoon. The first years complained about their homework resulting in conflict as the fifth years studied incessantly for their career defining examinations, and the sixth years laughed and promised that the NEWTs were much worse.

"Stop staring at her. You're giving _me_ a headache." Ron huffed from his seat by the fireplace, causing Harry to look back at his books so quickly that the Weasley boy wondered if he had given himself whiplash. Rolling his eyes at his best friend, the redhead shouted over his shoulder to the dark-haired girl as she grumbled in annoyance and crumpled up her parchment: "Oi, Malfoy!" Surprised by the use of her last name, Nova peeled her concentrated stare from the diagram in front of her and looked up at the redheaded boy. "We're taking a break in a bit, you coming?" As the girl nodded and then went back to talking to the Longbottom boy, Ron grinned and nudged Harry: "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

"Stop teasing him." Hermione scolded without lifting her gaze from the extensive notes that she had compiled for the each of her exams, a slight smile toying at the corners of her mouth.

* * *

The early evening air was still as the small group exited the castle. Under the strain of examination preparation, there had been little time for anything that didn't involve choking on the dust mites that bred in between the pages of the old texts that resided in the school library. Fastening the bottom three buttons on her Slytherin-green cardigan, Nova remained in-step with Hermione as they crossed the grounds with the aim of alleviating some stress with fresh air.

"Oh, Ravenclaw are playing." The Granger girl suddenly alerted the group, her hazel eyes scanning the Quidditch pitch. "Do you want to go and watch Cho?" She asked Harry only to receive a grunt in response which almost drowned out the groan that escaped the Malfoy to her left.

"Leave her alone." Nova suddenly barked causing Ron to jump, her grey eyes narrowing like her brother's as she caught sight of a couple of third year Slytherins mocking Luna who had skipped by with what appeared to be a live eagle nested amongst the silver white hair on the top of her head. "Idiots." She hissed as the group ducked their heads to avoid her stare before scarpering for the entrance to the match.

"Pssst!" A whisper caught the wind from behind a nearby pillar. "Harry, Hermione." The voice rang out, "Ron, Nova. Can yeh come with me?" Recognising the gruff tones, the four sought out the groundskeeper. Nova's eyes widened slightly as she caught sight of his large and anguished face; bruises glittered his skin like the stars in the night sky and the tangled hairs of his beard were sticky with red as blood dripped from his swollen nose. "Now?" The half-giant asked, his blackened eyes pleading with the teenagers whilst they remained planted to their spot outside the pitch.

Nodding, the small group immediately followed; a heavy silence blanketing them as they each reached an explanation for Hagrid's condition. The sunlight soon grew sparser as the trees of the Forbidden Forest stretched up through the clouds. The teenagers were almost jogging to keep up with the man's giant treads as he headed deeper into the forest, occasionally looking around to ensure that they weren't being followed by Umbridge or one of her slippery student spies. The young Malfoy frowned as her calf muscles burned. Looking up at the groundskeeper, she felt a sharp tug on her trainers as the root of a nearby tree warped itself around her. Her stomach flipped as she tripped whilst Harry instinctively grasped her arm and held her up.

"Watch you don't trip." Ron snorted in amusement only to kick the path with his toe and tumble forward.

"Watch you don't trip." Nova childishly quipped; her voice low as she mocked him, laughing as he playfully shoved her away from him whilst Harry grinned and Hermione rolled her eyes.

Their laughter soon fell silent as a herd of centaurs rushed through the trees directly in front of them. They shouted words that were lost among the fog and swung weapons that frightened the softest of souls. Hagrid immediately halted as the riot continued further into the forest: "I've ne'r seen the centaurs so riled an' they're dangerous a' the bes' a times. If the Ministry restricts their territory much more, they're goin' ter have a full uprisin' on their hands!"

"Hagrid, what is going on?" Hermione finally asked, concern etched across her brow as she looked up at the man with a frown.

"I'm sorry ter be so mysterious. I wouldn' be botherin' yeh a' all but with Dumbledore gone…I'll likely be gettin' the sack any day now an' I jus' couldn' leave without telling yeh about 'im."

The rustling of leaves startled her as she frowned with a concoction of suspicion and confusion. However, that mixture soon turned to apprehension and fear as she turned her head to the source of the noise. Grey eyes soon found pale pink feet – tarnished in mud and bigger than any she had ever seen. Parting her lips slightly, she allowed her eyes to wander upwards. Large knobbly knees hardened by nature. Scarce clothing made of deep brown rags and coated in numerous species of moss. Her eyes widened as her head bent back as far as possible. A pair of teeth, rotten from the core and larger than any door. An enormous nose and two bulging green eyes. Breathing out and instinctively taking a step back out of fear, she met Hermione's worried expression.

"Grawpy, down 'ere yeh great baffoon!" Hagrid chuckled, the fondness evident in his dark eyes. Nova's hand unconsciously clutched Harry's arm as the ground thundered underneath their feet. Frozen and albeit a little perplexed, the friends watched the giant as he chased the birds that flew by him. Lurching forward to catch one, he slammed his hands together above them prompting the teenage wizards and witches to duck from his grasp. Nova slowly rose once more as Harry looked at her breathlessly before releasing her from his hold. A frown etched her brow as she warily looked up at the giant called Grawp - unsure of how she was supposed to act. "Grawp, I brough' yeh some company." An expression resembling a smile crossed the giant's mud-painted face, momentarily putting the group at ease. However, their hearts soon leapt into their throats as he plundered towards them, forcing them backwards with haste. "I couldn' jus' leave 'im. He's my brother." Hagrid revealed, sorrow in his tone as the giant was tugged backwards by the rope that bound him to a nearby tree – Nova couldn't deny the relief that flushed through her in that moment.

"Blimey." Ron breathed.

"Well, half-brother really. But he's completely harmless!" The defensiveness in his tone did nothing to ease the Malfoy girl's doubts but as Grawp bent down and stared at them with a slightly gormless expression, she couldn't help but feel for him. "Jus' a lil' high-spirited tha's all!"

Suddenly, Hermione let out a shrill scream as the giant gripped her in one hand and lifted her up to his eye level. The groundkeeper's scolds fell on deaf ears and Ron begged him to do something with an urgency often unseen in the youngest Weasley boy. As the girl struggled against the enormous fingers, Nova stood frozen to the spot; her mind completely blank and failing to offer any form of useful solution. Wide-eyed, she watched as Ron ran towards the giant and whacked his leg with a fallen tree branch. As she looked up at Hermione, she saw nothing but panic rendering her useless against the beast. As Ron was kicked by their friend's half-brother and landed on his back at her feet, she couldn't even muster up a taunting remark.

"Grawp!" Hermione finally shouted causing the giant to look at her as she pointed a finger in front of his face. "Put me down. Now."

Harry, Ron and Nova held their breath as the giant paused, staring down at the human witch. The silence engulfed them until Hermione was gently place back on the floor. As she stepped backwards to stand between Nova and Ron, she squeezed the girl's hand and offered a smile whilst the giant looked down at them apologetically before stepping behind his tree.

"Are you alright?" The Weasley boy muttered, concern etched across his pale brow as he looked at the witch beside him.

"Fine." Hermione nodded. "He just needs a firm hand that's all."

Harry smiled as he caught sight of Grawp whilst he looked amongst the pile of random objects that he seemed to have collected: "I think you have an admirer, Hermione."

"You…you just stay away from her, yeah?" Ron quivered, prompting Nova to peel her gaze from the bounty of unfamiliar objects and look at him.

"That really told him, Ron. I'm quivering in my boots." She snorted in amusement, earning a chuckle from Harry and Hermione.

Ron scowled in response before mumbling, uselessly: "You aren't even wearing boots."

As a smirk contorted her face, Grawp returned to them holding what appeared to be a bar with a metal box attached. Nova raised her eyebrows in shock as the giant pulled a lever causing the box to ring.

"What is that?" She asked quietly, her intrigued gaze remaining firmly on the strange bar as she leant closer to Harry and awaited an explanation. "I have never seen anything so strange…"

Harry smiled at her lack of knowledge before whispering: "The handlebars of a bicycle."

"Of a what?" She murmured, almost inaudibly as Grawp continued playing with the bell.

"A bicycle." Harry reiterated, looking at her as she frowned at him before he grinned in amusement. The young wizard had forgotten the life that his friend had led as a member of a pureblood wizarding family. The Malfoys held a notorious hatred of anything to do with the muggle world and so it was not so hard to believe that unlike many other wizards and witches, Nova had been completely sheltered from it.

As the girl pursed her lips and tried to understand, Grawp handed the item to Hermione. The simple sign of affection warmed her heart as her friend rung the bell causing the giant to smile shyly.

"He gets his own food an' all. Its company he'll need when I'm gone. Yeh'll look after him, won't yeh?" Hagrid spoke up, smiling fondly at his brother as he sat down, ringing the bell on the handlebars continuously. Hermione's expression matched that of the groundskeeper: "I'm the only family he's got."

* * *

A yawn escaped her as she wandered through the corridor on her way back to the Gryffindor common room. After agreeing to watch over Grawp, she had decided to spend some time with her brother. The heels of her shoes scuffed along the marble floors as she daydreamed absentmindedly. The candlelight flickered with a breeze that danced through the old castle as she yawned once more.

"Miss Malfoy." A sickly-sweet voice called out from behind her, prickling the hairs on her neck as she stopped in the previously empty corridor.

"Can I help you, _Professor_?"

"Perhaps you can." The stout woman smiled, falsely. "You see, I am having trouble understanding a number of things due to a lack of communication and that makes for a rather empty report for the Minister."

"What has that got to do with me?"

"Nothing, of course." Umbridge hummed, a shrill giggle escaping her lips.

Nova's eyes narrowed as her guards went up: "What do you want?"

"Your father holds a rather influential position within the Ministry and values his social standing, yes?" Frowning, Nova nodded slightly. "And should his reputation be _under threat_ and his job – his life – was on the line, as his daughter, you would do whatever it took to prevent that from happening, no?"

Her hair slapped her cheek as she spun to face the woman in pink, her expression dark and glowering in the candlelit corridor: "Was that a threat? I would be careful, Professor. You do not want to make the wrong enemy."

"Oh, my dear, I am not threatening you." The woman giggled once more, causing Nova to clench her teeth. "Silly girl."

"Then I will ask again:" The young girl spoke, her grey eyes hardened as they pierced the woman in search of a soul to devour, "What do you want?"

"You seem particularly close with Mr Potter." Umbridge concluded. The young witch opened her mouth to protest but as the woman smiled she closed it once more. "Perhaps you know something of use. Regarding Dumbledore's whereabouts, for example?"

Nova hesitated slightly as an answer pushed itself to the forefront of her mind. An answer that would not only endanger a friend but betray those closest to her. Her eyes darted over the woman's face as she searched for a bluff and her mind scrambled for an escape route – something, _anything_ to protect her family. Her palms grew sweaty as the smaller woman stared at her expectantly. Friends or family?

The decision to offer any form of response was ultimately the wrong one but as she considered the validity of the headmistress' threat accompanied by Harry's revelation regarding her father, she found the words flew out of her mouth: "I don't know where he is." She rushed. Friends or family? "Perhaps you ought to ask Hagrid. From what I gather, he has always been one of Dumbledore's most loyal followers so if anyone knows, it would be him." The plump woman visibly beamed at the news, finally finding the excuse that she needed to banish the half-breed from the grounds. Nova swallowed the weight that had suddenly planted itself in her chest. Friends or family? "Hagrid will know."

 _Family._


	18. CHAPTER 17

****Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter world; all rights go to J.K Rowling. I do however own my original character Nova Malfoy and her background.****

An unsettling feeling of guilt brewed in the pit of her stomach. The decision had been an obvious one and yet a gnawing voice in the back of her mind reminded her that her friends would not see it that way. _But it's easy to do the right thing when you are not the one at the fork in the road._ The tip of her quill continually dripped thick black ink onto the study sheets that Hermione had made for them. The fire crackled to her right, emitting a soft glow across her pale skin as it caressed her cheek with a warm hand. Her head throbbed due to her creased brow as she stared into space absentmindedly.

"Nova!" The shout caused the youngest Malfoy to jump in her seat, almost toppling the ink bottle that she had expertly balanced on her knee. Turning towards the voice with widened grey eyes, she was met with a rather unamused Hermione: "You aren't even listening _and_ you're ruining the parchment. How do you expect to pass if you aren't concentrating?"

As the dark-haired girl muttered an apology and pretended to glance over her now blotchy parchment, Harry frowned at her: "What's wrong?"

"Fed up of being made to feel stupid for not reading a piece of parchment which may as well be written in ancient runes!" Nova snapped, eventually finding an excuse for her uninterested expression as she sighed and dumped the notes on the table. "I'm sorry Hermione but not everyone is as smart as you." As the older girl looked up and grinned in amusement at her friend's frustration, a smile cracked the Malfoy's features; a false smile that may have fooled anyone who hadn't found themselves studying her instead of the confusing notes and so, Harry remained sceptical but decided that no good would come from pressing her further.

"How are you feeling about the Defence Against the Dark Arts O.W.L?" The Granger girl continued, bringing the topic back to the most critical issue at hand: exams.

"I have never faced a boggart before...I'm not sure how I feel about revealing my greatest weakness to a room full of strangers."

"I think you'll be brilliant." Harry muttered, his eyes sincere.

"You are such a Malfoy..." Ron snorted from where he sat in the corner, praying that Hermione might forget his presence and leave him be. He was unsure how much more critiquing he could take; however, he would not miss the opportunity to poke fun at his new friend.

"Ron!" The grey-eyed girl shouted in panic, pointing behind him with a look of slight terror as she leant backwards, almost disappearing into the seat. "Spider!"

As the boy jumped from his position and ran behind them, shaking himself ridiculously with a slight whimper. Nova's face remained passive as Hermione shook her head in amusement before realisation dawned on the Weasley boy.

"Just like your brother." He grumbled, reminded of the taunts her brother had used against Harry in their third year. The girl smirked as he launched a pillow at her from the sofa opposite before throwing himself down beside his best friend. Nova's gaze landed on Harry who met her with a bright grin that glistened in his eyes. Laughing slightly, she returned it - a gentle tinge of pink on her cheeks – almost unnoticeable against the amber glow of the flames reflecting off her.

* * *

Being a Malfoy had often served her well in the past and with her father's connections within the Ministry, the girl knew that he would not allow her to taint the family's impeccable standards. That cushioning alone, helped to alleviate a certain level of pressure that she had placed on her shoulders. However, as she entered the Entrance Hall, the young witch's abilities spoke for themselves. The counter-jinxes and defensive spells were seamless, boosting her confidence as she reached the concluding section of the Defence Against the Dark Arts practical examination. It was no secret that the concept of the boggart was one that made her limbs tremble with anxiety. Her grey gaze wandered to the other examiners in the room – all old with knotted knuckles and prominent veins. The girl doubted that most of them could even see the student they were examining. Searching the hall, she found her brother. _Of course, Draco got Professor Marchbanks whilst she was stuck with a bad-breathed greasy man who looked like he hadn't cast a spell in over two decades._

The trunk rattled violently at her feet, reminding her of the creature that had plagued her thoughts all week. It was a new challenge but one that she was willing to accept. As the lid creaked open, the wooden box fell on its side with a thud. Bracing herself, Nova awaited her worst fear. Within seconds, she was faced with the contorted form of her brother. His skin was paler than usual as thick blood pooled around him, seeping though his robes. His hair was damp, highlighting the dark rings around his lifeless eyes. Nova's heart sank at the picture in front of her but as she recalled Draco's bored expression as he was examined a mere second ago, she reminded herself that it was not real. Taking a deep breath, her right hand raised her wand. The examiner nodded in approval as she uttered the first syllable of the boggart banishing spell, however her voice soon caught in her throat as the boggart shifted its form. Her brother's white blonde hair grew in length, darkening to a deep black. His robes replaced by a long dark dress. The gentle frown that crinkled her forehead was soon ironed into one of shock as the girl subconsciously stumbled backwards. Snapping its head up, the boggart stared into her soul with a sinister smirk. Nova's breathing increased as she was faced with something that she never once considered as her deepest and darkest fear.

"When you're ready, Miss Malfoy?" Her examiner – whose name she hadn't bothered to remember - spoke, trying to pull the young teenager from her terror-filled stupor.

The tendon in her jaw clenched slightly as her pulse raced and the woman stood up from the floor. Staggering slightly, she reached her long fingernails into the sleeve of her gown and pulled out the all too familiar, crooked Walnut wand. A sickening grin twisted her expression as she stretched her neck and slowly cavorted towards the young witch. Nova felt paralysed, her eyes welling up and her chest rising and falling rapidly as the woman dancing manically in front of her. The Malfoy girl's wand slipped out of her sweaty palms as any thought she had ever had, abandoned her. The hall around her seemed to disappear and in her mind's eye she was back in that chair. Immobilised by fear. The light grey of her eyes mixed with salty tears as they were pulled into the familiar black ones. Her heart hammered in her chest as her only form of defence clattered on the stone floor and glided away from reach. Her body trembled like a leaf on a blustering autumn day as the older witch descended on her. Petrified, her subconscious flashed through images of the woman's insanity. The dark walnut wand was pointed directly at her chest as rotting teeth smiled, aching to watch the life drain from the girl.

Suddenly, Nova was pushed from the creature as her examiner stepped in front. She watched, wide-eyed as her aunt transformed into a large black dog. Reminded of Sirius, her pulse slowed, and a slight smile replaced the look of sheer trepidation. A warming undoubtable feeling of love replaced crippling fear. However, realisation soon crashed into her as the examiner dealt with the boggart and turned to face her with an expression of somewhat regret. That was when the anger set in. One look of pity was all it took to set her eyes ablaze. Turning on her heel, forgetting the discarded wand and the ignoring the querying glances of her peers, Nova all but ran from the room.

* * *

"What happened?" Harry asked gently as he approached the dark-haired girl; cautiously taking a seat beside her. Her eyes were glassy with tears as she stared at the green blades of grass that warped themselves around her. Anger was something that he had grown accustomed to over the year. A gnawing and dangerous feeling that had become his closest friend. And so, as his emerald eyes scanned her as the wind pulled at her hair, he knew that the emotion had acquainted itself within her mind. However, underneath the wrath in her expression, there was a vulnerability. A weakness that the young Malfoy had spent her life trying and ultimately failing to hide. The very thing that had drawn Harry to her. From the moment they had met at Grimmauld Place, he had been enamoured by her and the forbidden nature of their friendship – intrigued – but as he grew to know her, it was her many flaws that humanised her. Nova's temper was something to be reckoned with, the sensitive trigger on a fully loaded gun. She was competitive, yet only with herself; trying so hard to match the self-image that she held in her head. However, she was also a quitter. Preferring to craft her disappointment to reduce the pain; Harry wasn't sure if that made her a coward or not, and yet it did not matter. Nova was ruled too often by fear – of the water, of her family and her father's acquaintances; of herself...and of that boggart.

"I thought that it would be water...the lake or..." She finally whispered, drawing him from his thoughts as the wind wrapped itself around her words and carried them out into the world. Blinking back the pooling tears, angry at herself for growing upset, Nova swallowed roughly. "It was Her." The scar on his brow contorted as he frowned slightly, trying to comprehend what she was telling him. "My boggart. It was Bellatrix and I...I froze." Nova clenched her jaw and squeezed her eyes shut as she looked away from the boy in shame. "I was too cowardly to defeat her." Roughly, wiping her tears away she took a deep breath as he silently nodded in understanding, wrapping her hand in his. There was a heavy silence resting upon them, disturbed only by the crackles that the breeze left on the surface of the lake. Turmoil was evident in her expression as it contorted her brow, reducing the sunlight that braved the storm in her eyes. After a moment, her stare returned to him: "Don't look at me like that." Her tone was harsh with frustration as she sighed before setting her jaw and hardening her stare. "Don't look at me like I'm someone to be pitied." Harry knew that she wasn't arguing with him, not really. The true enemy was herself as she tried to justify her fear – though she needn't, not to him. Nodding, with a strong determination, she added: "Next time, I'll be ready." Pulling away and rising from the ground, her hardened grey eyes looked out over the lake; her hands clenched into tight fists at her sides. "I'm done being weak."

* * *

Upon abandoning the raven-haired boy, Nova had opted to spend the rest of the day in the company of one of the few people that had the ability to comfort her in any scenario. The great hall was quiet with groups of students scattered around at the various tables. The quartet sat at what was usually the Slytherin table; it felt odd to the young brunette, in the beginning, but as time wore on her out-of-place position merely reminded her of her family. Scribbling notes in a sleek leather journal, Nova kicked her brother under the table as he reached over and nudged her quill forcing her to draw a thick line over her previously perfect calligraphy. Glancing up with a playful scowl, she fought a grin as he smirked and returned to his game of Exploding Snap.

"I don't know what Johnson was thinking with _that_ hairstyle. She looks like she has worms coming out of her head." Pansy spoke up, breaking the comfortable silence that had fallen over the group. As the remaining trio hummed with disinterest, the girl examined her fingernails and continued with a different subject, "Do you think Cho has taken a bump to the head in Quidditch? Nova?" Rolling her eyes at the mind-numbing Slytherin, the Gyffindor looked to her left with an eyebrow raised in question. "I mean, I used to respect her taste in men...At least Diggory was good looking."

Nova smiled, sarcasm and patronisation oozing from her expression: "I doubt that anyone cares for your respect when the only thing swimming around in that shallow brain of yours is vanity." As the Parkinson girl opened her mouth in shock and somewhat protest, Draco laughed loudly causing her to flush scarlet and look down. Nova's lips turned down in slight regret as she viewed the student next to her; all Pansy had ever done was try to befriend her and all Nova had done was look for the negative aspects of her personality. "I'm sorry...that was mean."

"When are you going to learn that your insults don't count if you apologise for them?" Draco sighed, shaking his head in feigned disappointment. It was true that his twin had inherited the venomous tongue that all Malfoys seemed to possess, yet she would always offer her victims the antidote to her poison.

"It's alright, Nova." Pansy finally spoke up, placing her hand on the other girl's arm. "I'm not mad, you were just protecting a friend."

Draco sneered at the mention of his sister's relationship with his sworn enemy. His eyes visibly narrowing and his cheeks brandishing red: "Potter and my sister are not _friends_." The boy spat, glaring across the table with ice cold steel grey eyes.

"Sorry. I thought she liked him. She studies with the Granger girl."

"Don't get her started on the mudblood."

Nova's gaze hardened as she glared at her brother through her dark curls, prompting him to shrug nonchalantly whilst Pansy continued with her incessant babble: "You aren't one of those, are you?" She asked, lowering her tone as if divulging a scandalous secret. "A muggle sympathiser?" The twins scowled in unison; no words needed to communicate their thoughts. Blushing under their identical scrutiny, she smiled as if unaffected by them: "Well I suppose it's nice that you spend time with people who are less fortunate...like charity!"

At this comment, Draco found that he could tolerate no more as he snapped: "Shut up, Pansy. You're lowering the intelligence of the entire school." Nova fought a smirk as she stared at her notes, willing herself not to make eye contact with her counterpart for fear of laughing and upsetting the girl. However, her amusement had not gone unnoticed by Draco who grinned in triumph as he selected his card and laid it on top of the deck. Suddenly the cards exploded, causing the youngest Malfoy to jump and groan as she spilled a little ink on her clean page. Her disdain was soon replaced as a laugh bubbled in her chest and her dimples deepened with a grin at the sight of her brother's robes as they caught fire. Goyle fist-bumped the air in triumph, silently celebrating as the blonde boy to his right patted down his shirt to extinguish the flames and Pansy fawned over him. As the hilarity died down, the brunette boy reshuffled the deck of cards and handed half to the Parkinson girl, continuing their mini-tournament. "Do you want to help me practice for Quidditch tomorrow?" Draco spoke again, taking a hold of his sister's quill and doodling on a page of her journal; his tone quiet and a lot softer than anyone except from his twin had heard. "I'll help you improve your flying."

Tilting her head to examine his artwork, Nova nodded: "Alright." A gentle smile grazing her face as she watched him. "I need to study for Astronomy first though."

"I thought that was what you were doing now?"

Raising an eyebrow, Nova looked pointedly to her journal and the quill in his hand: "I _was_ , until you drew all over my notes."

"Oh, so that's what that nonsense was?" A smirk fought his grin, laughter evident in his eyes as he teased her. Scowling playfully, Nova launched a scrunched-up piece of parchment at him. Catching it with ease, the boy laughed: "Seeker, remember?" Before throwing it back at her and grinning as she failed to catch it. The balled-up paper bounced off her forehead causing her to blink rapidly. "I'll give you my notes once Pansy's finished writing them."

* * *

As promised, Draco had presented her with his extensive notes for the astronomy O.W.L. and the young witch had fallen asleep with them most nights leading up to the exam – resulting in numerous papercuts. The subject was one which Hermione had concluded would result in an easy pass, however, in Nova's eyes it was nothing of import and had failed to capture her attention for more than a few minutes at a time. Her father blamed her brother's willingness to correct her mistakes, claiming that it merely enabled her laziness in regard to her studies. Her mother claimed that Astronomy wasn't the most important of her examinations and as long as she passed, it did not really matter; she would be proud regardless.

The practical aspect of the examination was tedious and tiresome. Nova sighed as she adjusted her telescope for what felt like the hundredth time and searched the night-sky for Venus; once again marking the planet on her chart and moving onto the next star. A barking in the distance begged for attention but the young witch was determined to prove her father wrong. She hadn't been lazy in her study of the subject and would be damned if she allowed him to believe it when their results arrived in the summer holidays. However, a suffocated roar soon erupted from the groundskeeper's cabin below, snapping the consideration of many students. Despite the examiners' best efforts to return focus to the O.W.L. at hand, a loud boom crackled through the air. By this point, Nova had discarded her telescope and trained her stare to the grounds beneath her. Squinting through the darkness, she located a small group of people, led by Umbridge. Soon, the cabin door swung open, flooding the grassy area with light. Bright red flashes escaped from the wands of the strangers and attacked the half-giant. Stunning spells. Her eyes widened as the men called for reason and the gentle groundskeeper fought against them. Her hand shot to her mouth as Fang cried out with a high-pitched whine as he was targeted and left immobile by the jets of red, prompting Hagrid to launch the offender into the air. The sound of her heart hammered in her eardrums, blocking out all other noise as she peeled her gaze from the commotion below and witnessed the terror on her friends' faces. _This was her doing._ Things appeared to be going from bad to worse as Professor McGonagall arrived to defend the man. Screams burst from a number of the students behind her as the Head of Gryffindor house was hit with no less than four stunning spells. Nova had never felt guilt like this before. Tears stung at the corner of her eyes as she watched the bearded man sling the limp body of his dog over his shoulder whilst trying to fend off the remaining attackers. Umbridge screamed orders to her men as Hagrid knocked them out, one by one before turning and fleeing into the darkness.

"Um...five minutes to go, everybody." The examiner announced uselessly. Unable to recapture the attention of the partially traumatised teenagers in his company.

As her peers discussed the woman's motives, the youngest Malfoy found herself unable to peel her stare from the crumpled body of her Transfiguration professor. A melancholy feeling ebbed in the pit of her stomach as she considered the consequences of her decision. Whilst Harry, Ron and Hermione discussed the events, Nova concluded that they could never know what she had done for they simple would never understand. No, there was only one person who she could rely on to truly understand her motives, to tell her that she had done what anybody else in her position would have but due to Umbridge's monitoring of letters in and out of the school, there was no way of contacting him. No way of confiding in him or simply hearing his voice as she read his letters.

"What do you look so guilty for?" A voice snapped her out of her mind. She hadn't noticed that the examination had finished, nor that her half-completed paper had been collected and half of the students had already packed their things and left. Draco frowned at her as she hastily shoved her belongings into her bag and made her way out of the tower. Sighing roughly, he jogged to keep up with her. "Nova. What's wrong with you?"

Biting at the inside of her cheek, Nova nervously picked at the skin beside her thumb nail: "Umbridge said something about our father's position at the Ministry." She alerted her twin, her voice a low whisper. "She asked what I would do to protect his reputation."

Her brother's frown deepened as he shook his head in confusion: "What did she want?"

"Information about Dumbledore's whereabouts. I didn't know anything so I told her that if anyone knew it would be Hagrid because everyone knows that he is one of Dumbledore's most loyal." The words tumbled out of her mouth like water finally released as the floodgates are opened. The guilt tainting her sharp features as they were illuminated by the candelabras that lined the walls. "He was attacked because of me. And Professor McGonagall..."

"And you are feeling guilty because...?" Draco drawled, his eyes narrowed. Upon seeing the blood that bubbled where she had peeled the skin on her left thumb – a nervous habit - he slapped right hand away. "Why should we care what happens to that filthy half-breed?"

"He is a good person, Draco." Nova argued, groaning as she instinctively picked at another finger only to have her brother slap her hand again. A deep sigh released some of her tension. "He didn't deserve to be treated that way!" As she glared at him in indignation, her voice rose higher than she intended, forcing him to shush her.

"Don't act all high and mighty when _you_ are the one who handed him over." He scowled with a hiss. However, as her face fell and resembled that of a kicked puppy, he rolled his eyes to mask the pang of guilt that rippled through his chest for snapping at her: "Family comes first. You didn't do anything wrong." As his twin pouted slightly, he shrugged, adding: "Stop feeling sorry for yourself." Before lightly punching her arm in somewhat affection and nodding towards the staircase that led to her common room. As she disappeared behind the portrait, Draco released a heavy sigh; it wasn't his sister's job to shield the family. They had been protecting her for ten years, sheltering her from harm and keeping her safely hidden from those who wished to use her. His fist clenched along with his jaw. Umbridge had no right. If she wanted information, she should have come to him for there was _nothing_ that the eldest Malfoy child would refrain for saying or doing if it meant protecting the one person that he cared for more than anything in existence.

Absolutely _nothing._


End file.
